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1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

/ 


AN 


ADDRESS 


TO 


WILLIAM  TUDOE,  Esc^ 

AUTHOR  OF 


'■-\A 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


•  • 


INTENDED  TO   PROVE 


THE  CALUMNY  AND  SLANDER 


OF   HIS   REMARKS   ON 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH. 


g       f". 


I 


'1 


•  >        ;  I 


PHILADELPHIA: 

M.  CAREY  AND  SON,  CHESNUT-STREET, 


182L 


■«#■ 


^. 


n. 


/3  SS-f 


PREFACE. 


) 
1)^ 


?r  '• 


Although  the  Olive  Branch  has  had  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  of  success,  and  received  the  most 
flattering  testimonials  of  approbation  from  a  variety 
of  citizens,  whose  puWtC''^rit,^!^teHigence,  and 
standing  in  society,  attach  great  value  to  their  praise, 
and  render  it  a  just  subject  of  gratification ;  yet  it 
has  not  escaped  the  utmost  malice  and  bitterness  of 
abuse  and  reproach.  Perhaps  the  violence  and  in- 
temperance of  those  who  have  assailed  it,  render 
their  vituperation  as  valuable  as  the  applause  of 
those  who  have  honoured  it  with  their  commenda- 
tion. 

It  is  true,  the  number  of  those  who  have  so  gross- 
ly vilified  the  work,  is  but  small — and  none  of 
them  have  ever  condescended  to  enter  into  particu- 
lars, to  justify  their  denunciations.  They  have  run 
riot,  in  general  reviling  and  declamation,  without 
detailing  its  errors — controverting  its  facts — or  dis- 
proving its  inductions. 

Among  these  critics,  I  shall  here  notice  only  two, 
the  Hon.  R.  H.  Goldsborough,  United  States  Sen- 
ator from  the  state  of  Maryland — and  Wm.  Tudor, 


i*' 


m 

•  it  \  - 

'k 


IV 


HRKFACE. 


4 


Esq.  of  Boston.  The  former  gentlemiin,  in  replj 
to  a  civil,  inoffensive  circular  letter,  (a)  which  I  sent 
him  in  common  with  other  members  of  congress, 
(b)  requesting  information,  in  order  to  correct  the 
work,  if  necessary,  proffered  his  services  on  a  plan, 
as  admirable  for  its  fairness  and  candour,  as  for  its 
entire  novelty.  He  very  kindly  offered  to  correct  the 
work,  by  *'  blotting'-  out  evert/  iine^  as  being-  a  cruel 
fraud  upon  the  imsuspectiiig-  credulity  of  the  wiwaryy 
and  as  a  durable  conservatory  of  materials  calculated 
to  extend  error  and  engender  hatred^  (c)  This  liberal 
offer  gave  rise  to  a  correspondence  which  forms  the 
appendix  to  this  pamphlet.  Mr.  G.  was  so  confident 
of  the  merits  of  his  strictures,  that  he  urged  their 
publication  iiiul^  mliiiitiiiiipiiiHig;.  ^'  I  hope  you  will 
*'  oblige  me  so  far  as  to  determine  on  their  publica- 
**  tion,  together  with  the  whole  of  our  correspon- 
"  dence,  as  I  am  quite  willing  to  risk  what  you  con- 
"  sider  my  criticism  before  the  world."  (d)  I  now 
comply  with  his  desire. 

The  other  gentleman,  Mr.  Tudor,  early  last  spring, 
after  a  lapse  of  above  five  years  from  the  first  pub- 

(~a_)  See  Appendix  A. 

(A)  It  may  be  proper  to  inform  the  reader,  that  feeling  a  sincere  desire 
of  rendcrin«^the  "work  as  correct  as  possible,  1  printed  cii'culars  previous 
to  putting  the  difierent  editions  to  press,  which  I  transmitted  to  the  of- 
ficci's  of  government,  members  of  both  houses  of  congress,  and  other 
gentlemen,  soliciting  information  and  the  con'ection  of  eiTors.  It  is  pain- 
ful to  me  to  state,  that  I  never  received  a  single  item  of  information  from 
either  the  executive,  the  heads  of  departments,  or  members  of  congress. 
Richard  Rush,  esq.  former  Attoi'ney  General,  and  Joseph  Nourse,  esq. 
Register  Genei-al,  aflbrded  me  ^vhutever  aid  was  in  their  power,  which, 
by  the  way,  was  not  very  important.  Scarcely  one  of  the  letters  address- 
ed to  the  other  gentlemen >  was  answered. 

('c  )  See  Appendix  11.  ■    '      . 

I  dj  See  page  Co.  .- 


■i- 


rHEIACE, 


n  reply 
h  I  sent 
)ngress, 
•ect  the 
a  plan, 
i  for  its 
rect  the 
a  cruel 
nxvary^ 
'culattd 
liberal 
■ms  the 
nfident 
d  their 
u  will 
Liblica- 
espon- 
Li  con- 
I  now 

t  pub-^ 


•e  desire 
)revious 
» the  of- 
<1  other 
:  is  pain- 
in  from 
ingress, 
se,  esq. 
which, 
ddress- 


"^n 


lication  of  the  O.  B.  and  \vhcn  it  was  nearly  forgot- 
ten, drew  a  hideous  picture  of  it,  as  well  as  of  the 
motives  and  object  of  its  author,  in  his  "  Letters  on 
the  Eastern  States^ 

It  was  not  without  reluctance  that  I  determin- 
ed to  reply  to  Mr.  Tudor,  and,  through  him,  to  the 
other  writers  who  had  vilified  my  work.  The  "  Let- 
ters on  the  Eastern  States"  possess  very  considerable 
merit,  and  are  likely  to  become  popular.  They  will 
very  probably  penetrate  into  circles,  which  the  Olive 
Branch  has  never  entered,  and  be  read  by  persons 
who  never  had,  and  perhaps  may  never  have,  an  op- 
portunity of  testing  the  merits  of  the  criticism,  and 
who  would  of  course  form  unfavourable  and  hostile 
opinions  of  the  work  and  its  author.  I  respectfully 
submit  therefore  to  the  public,  whether  I  had  any 
alternative  but  to  appear  by  silence  to  acquiesce  in 
the  justice  of  the  shocking  allegations  against  my 
work,  or  to  vindicate  it  and  myself. 

Irksome  as  the  latter  course  is,  the  choice  was  not 
difficult.  The  path  of  duty  was  plain  and  unequiv- 
ecal. 

Besides  the  personal  motives  which  led  to  this 
course,  there  was  an  inducement  of  a  higher  n     -re. 

The  Olive  Branch  is  a  desultory  history  of  ihe 
errors,  and  guilt,  and  dangers  of  faction — and  of  the 
erratic  and  sinister  course  of  the  two  parties,  which 
have  heretofore  divided  this  nation- — and  whose  mu- 
tual jealousy,  hatred,  and  opposition,  have  operated 
so  perniciously  on  the  best  interests  of  the  country, 
and  occasionally  defeated  some  of  the  most  salutary 
measures  that  human  wisdom  could  devise.  It  con- 
tains a  great  collection  of  materials  for  future  his* 

a  ■'? 


1"   *-;•  \ 


I,,-- II 


t 
i  I 


i 


i  ii 


;» 


h 


m 


•M 


il 


il 


VI 


PREFACK. 


torians,  many  of  which,  taken  from  gazettes  and 
other  ephemeral  publications,  it  will  at  a  future  day 
be  diflicult  to  find  elsewhere.  It  is  therefore  incum- 
bent on  me  to  establish  the  injustice  of  the  accu- 
sations by  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  be  over- 
whelmed. 

Unwilling  to  believe  that  Mr.  Tudor  was  capable 
of  a  cool,  deliberate  departure  from  truth,  I  wrote 
him  a  letter  on  the  25th  of  Octo.oer,  requesting  a  re- 
consideration of  the  subject,  and  a  review  of  the 
facts  and  reasoning  on  which  my  defence  rested. 
He  acknowledges  to  have  read  the  principal  part  of 
that  defence — but  pertinaciously  resolves  to  con- 
tinue his  calumny  in  a  second  edition,  "  %uith  a  few 
slight  alterations^  On  this  conduct  I  forbear  com- 
ment.        ■-  >■■■>,.-.'      ^  ^fi, .,  .,  ^.,     ,.  .    . 

I  annex  the  correspondence. 


■'^♦. 


Williat?i  Tudor^  Esq. 


SIR, 


Common  fame  has  pronounced  you  author  of 
the  "  Letters  on  the  Eastern  States,"  and  will,  I  pre- 
sume, warrant  me  in  addressing  you  as  such. 

The  second  letter  contains  a  most  egregious  mis- 
representation of  the  Olive  Branch  and  its  author,  to 
which  I  have  begun  a  regular  reply  in  the  Belles  Let- 
tres  Repository,  published  in  New-York.  The  first 
No.  appeared  on  the  15th  of  this  month,  and  the 
second  is  to  be  published  the  15th  of  November. 
I  have  only  to  request  that  before  you  publish  a 
second  edition  of  your  letters,  you  will  examine  the 
work  in  question  again,  or  wait  until  my  answer  is 
complete — as  I  am  quite  certain  you  will  find  your 
review  >nanifestly  incorrect.     The  "/etf  slips'"^  oi 


lcn\ 

an 

pel 

of 
api 


PREFACE. 


VII 


ttcs  and 
iture  day 
e  incum- 
he  accii- 
be  over- 

5  capable 
I  wrote 
ng  a  re- 
r  of  the 
rested. 
1  part  of 
to  con- 
'/i  a  few 
ar  com- 


ithor  of 
I,  I  pre- 

• 

us  mis- 
thor,  to 
es  Let- 
he first 
nd  the 
ember. 
Dlish  a 
ine  the 
iwer  is 
I  your 


"  one  side"  amount  to  at  least  20 — and  "  all  the  vio- 
lences^^"*  "  all  the  ebuliuioiis^''  of  tlie  other,  do  not 
amount  to  the  five  hundredth  part  of  what  has  ap- 
peared. The  whole  of  the  extracts  that  I  have  made 
against  the  federalists  do  not  amount  to  a  tythe 
of  what  has  been  written  by  one  man^  or  what  has 
appeared  in  one  newspaper  in  a  single  month. 
Your  obt.  hble.  servt. 

MATHEW  CAREY. 
Philadelphia^  Oct.  25.  \%20,      ' 


<.<. 


"  Boston,  Dec,  26th,  1820. 


SIR, 


"  Your  letter  of  October  25th  was  received  in 
due  course.  I  wished  to  see  the  printed  letters  you 
referred  to,  before  returning  an  answer.  At  the 
time  the  New- York  magazine  could  not  be  found 
here.  I  left  town  soon  after,  on  a  distant  visit  of 
several  weeks.  Since  my  return,  I  have  got  the  No. 
for  November,  but  cannot  find  that  for  October, 
containing  your  first  letter.  In  consequence  of  your 
written  letter,  I  have  made  two  or  three  slight  alter- 
ations, which  you  perhaps  may  not  deem  important, 
for  a  second  edition  that  will  be  commenced  in  a  few 
days. 

*'  You  are  right  in  considering  me  the  author  of 
*  Letters  on  the  Eastern  States ;'  a  fact  I  never  in- 
tended to  conceal  from  any  person  who  might  think 
himself  injured  by  the  work.  If  your  book  had  been 
avowedly  a  crimination  of  one  party,  or  a  defence  of 
the  other,  I  should  have  made  no  objection ;  it  was 
the  disguise  of  its  title,  its  pretended  candour  and 
impartiality,  and  the  wide  circulation  so  industri- 


t! 


.1 


^11 


>  i-. 


"■M 


'•'It 


N 


\[ 


ft 


VIII 


PREFACE. 


'V 


ously  given  to  it,  which  led  to  my  remarks.  If  it 
be  mUchievoufi  to  krep  alive  hatred  and  prejudice^  to 
exasperate  the  passions^  and  ^q-ivc  false  impressions  to 
one  part  respecting'  another^  of  the  commimiti/,  the 
epithet  belongs  to  your  Olive  Branch. 

"  It  is  not  my  intention  to  engage  in  any  discus- 
sion. Your  work  came  in  my  way,  and  I  gave  my 
opinion  of  it..  If  it  be  a  fair,  manly  exhibition  of 
our  two  great  political  parties,  without  disguise  or 
partiality,  what  I  have  said  of  it  is  then  a  misre- 
presentation j  if  it  be  otherwise,  I  have  spoken  of 

it  justly. 

"  Your  hble.  servt.  '  » 

**  W.TUDOR.'* 

"M.  Carey,  Esq."  :     ^    '   ■  -       ' 


William  Tudor,  Esq. 


Sir, 


I  HAVE  received  yours  of  the  2Jth  ult.  whicH 
I  have  read  with  sincere  regret. 

Until  I  perused  it,  I  had  fondly  flattered  myself 
into  the  opinion,  that  the  false  allegations  respecting 
me  and  the  Olive  Branch,  contained  in  your  "  Letters 
on  the  Eastern  States,"  might  have  arisen  from  in- 
advertence ;  and  that  you  might  have  formed  your 
opinions  without  due  examination  of  the  work,  and 
perhaps  from  hearsay.  Had  this  been  the  case,  you 
would  not  be  the  first  critic  who  displayed  his  skill 
by  the  condemnation  of  a  work  which  he  had  not 
perused. 

Your  letter  has  undeceived  me.  It  evinces  that 
you  knew  your  allegations  to  be  false,  and  that  you 


lulduccd  them  with  malice  prepense  ;  as,  from  the 
length  of  time  that  has  ehipscd  since  the  puhlication 
of  your  work,  and  the  appeal  made  to  your  candour 
in  my  letter  of  the  25di  of  October,  you  ha\  e  had  am- 
ple opportunity  to  reconsider  the  sui)ject,  and  satis- 
fy yourself  of  the  excessive  injustice  of  your  accu- 
sations :  and  yet,  instead  of  making  the  amende  ho- 
norable, you  pertinaciously  maintain  the  ground  you 
originally  took.  r    .    '<■.  mi'- 

I  have,  I  trust,  established  this  point  beyond  the 
possibility  of  doubt,  in  a  pamphlet  which  will  appear 
very  shortly,  and  which  shall  be  forwarded  to  yo\i 
immediately  on  its  publication.  -  - 

I  shall  not,  therefore,  enter  into  a  detail  of  the  nu- 
merous falsehoods  which  you  have  compressed  into 
the  compass  of  a  short  paragraph.  I  shall  confine 
myself  to  a  single  one,  referring  you,  for  the  re- 
mainder, to  the  pamphlet  itself. 

You  assert,  that  in  stating  the  errors  and  guilt  of 
the  democratic  party,  I  have  confined  myself  to  "  a 
few  slips — ///"  which  I  have  "  softened  with  pathe* 
tic  apologies?^  , 

In  the  second  number  of  my  address,  contained 
in  the  New- York  Belles  Lettres  Repository,  which, 
in  your  letter  of  the  25th  ult.  you  acknowledge  to 
have  read,  I  have  enumerated  no  less  than  fourteen 
items  of  accusation  against  that  party,  some  of  them 
of  a  heinous  character,  viz. 

I.  The  Western  Insurrection. 

II.  The  establishment  of  Democratic  Societies  to 
overawe  the  Government. 

III.  The  defence  of  the  atrocities  of  the  French 
Revolution.  .  .    ,  .        ,  .,  .. 


f; 


!i 


t\ 


^^ii~ 


m 


K 


PREFACE. 


i!  i 


IV.  The  opposition  to  a  Navy. 

V.  The  clamour  against  the  Alien  and  Seditioij 
Laws.  .     "  •  -"■  "•■  ■•   -    ^•':  '  ' 

VI.  The  opposition  to  Jay's  Treaty.  ./^r' 

VII.  The  rejection  of  Monroe  and  Pinckney's 
Treaty.  •      ,  -  ,»  .     ..  "v^^'-i  -^  u 

VIII.  The  non-renewal  of  the  Charter  of  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States.  .  :         ,    .jiiLiii  i- 

IX.  The  rejection  of  the  Armistice  proposed  by 
Admiral  Warren.       »  '  -  '    '"  -'^^ 

X.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Gallatin  as  Ambas* 
sad  or  to  England.  • 

XI.  The  choice  of  Gottenburg  as  the  theatre  of 
negotiation. 

XII.  The  mismanagement  that  led  to  the  capture 
of  Washington. 

XIII.  The  dependence  on  Loans  for  the  support 
of  the  war  at  its  commencement. 

XIV.  The  neglect  of  due  preparations  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  country  after  the  downfal  of  Bonaparte. 

Besides  these,  there  are  eight  or  ten  other  heads 
of  accusation  against  the  same  party  in  the  O^.  B. 
which,  to  avoid  prolixity,  I  pass  over.  This  list,  I 
repeat,  you  had  before  your  eyes  ;  and  yet,  sir,  in 
defiance  of  this  irresistible  evidence,  vou  slander- 
ously  persist  in  your  accusation,  that  I  have  confin- 
ed myself  to  "  a  few  slips  ^''  which  I  have  ^'•softened 
with  pathetic  regrets  and  apologies  !  ! .'" 

I  am  warranted,  I  trust,  in  the  opinion,  that  few 
instances  have  occurred,  of  a  more  complete  disre- 
gard of  truth  and  fact,  than  this  obstinate  adher- 
ence to  a  false  accusation  displays.  In  the  course 
of  a  long  life,  I  have  met  with  nothing  parallel. 


I ' 


PREFACE. 


XI 


For  these  strong  positions  no  apology  is  made, 
nor  is  any  necessary.  I  should  not  be  quite  so  unce- 
remonious with  you,  but  that  you  have  set  me  the 
example.  A  man  who  uses  the  strong  language  of 
vituperation  in  which  you  have  indulged  j  who  ac- 
cuses another  of  "  hypocritical  pretences^"* — of  "  dis- 
guise*''— of  ^pretended  candour^^—~in  a  word,  of  a 
dereliction  of  honour  and  principle,  (which  is  the 
import  of  your  criticism,  when  fairly  analyzed,)  has 
no  right  to  complain,  if  he  receive  "  measure  for 
measure.'* 

From  your  decision,  the  result  of  prejudice,  par- 
ty passions,  and  malice,  I  appeal  to  the  public.  On 
their  award,  I  rest  my  cause.  To  that  award  I 
shall  cheerfully  submit,  with  a  full  confidence  that 
every  man  of  candour  will  pronounce  you  a  gross 
calumniator. 

To  the  formation  of  a  correct  decision  between 
you  and  me,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  considera- 
tion the  time  when — and  the  circumstances  under 
which — we  respectively  wrote.  I  wrote  in  Nov. 
1814,  when  the  co'mtry  was  endangered  by  a  foreign 
enemy,  whose  immense  disposable  force  was  liber- 
ated from  employment  in  Europe,  and  might  all  be 
poured  on  our  shores-— when  the  pulpits  rung  in 
Boston  and  elsewhere  with  calls  on  "  Moses  and 
Aaron"  for  guidance  into  the  Land  of  Promise — 
when  the  capital  of  the  nation  had  been  captured  and 
its  splendid  buildings  Vandalically  consigned  to  the 
flames — when  a  Gothic  naval  commander,  by  the 
particular  direction  of  his  sovereign,  had  menaced  our 
whole  maritime  frontier  with  destruction — when,  in 
the  midst  of  this  complicated  scene  of  distress  and 


s 


i 


P* 


m 


I 


XII 


PREFACE. 


horror,  calculated  to  unite  in  the  common  cause  eve- 
ry man,  who  had  a  spark  of  public  spirit,  the  legisla- 
ture of  Massachusetts  had  recently  issued  a  mani- 
festo, strongly  recommending  that  "  the  real  friends 
of  peace  xvoiild  continue  conscicntioiLshj  to  refrain 
from  affording  any  voluntary  aid  or  encouraifement  to 
this  most  disastrous  war'*'' — when  the  Hartford  con- 
vention was  sitting— and  when,  in  fine,  I  was  haunt- 
ed day  and  night,  whether  right  or  wrong,  with 
the  terrors  of  a  dissolution  of  the  union,  and  a 
consequent  civil  warfare.  Had  I,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, written  somewhat  intemperately  in  de- 
fence of  the  country  and  the  union,  against  those 
whose  measures  appeared  to  menace  such  a  catastro- 
phe— surely  the  error  was  venial — surely  '*  the  re- 
cording angel  would  shed  a  tear  over  it,  and  blot  it 
out  for  ever." 

But  when,  Mr.  Tudor,  did  you  write  ?  and  what 
is  your  apology  for  raking  up  the  ashes  and  rekind- 
ling the  fires  of  party  passions  ?  you  wrote  in  the 
year  1820,  when  party  was  so  nearly  annihilated 
in  most  parts  of  the  union  that  there  was  scarcely 
a  trace  of  it  in  existence — when  every  good  citizen 
was  disposed  to  buiy  in  oblivion  the  errors,  follies, 
and  guilt  of  past  times,  and  smoke  the  calumet  of 
peace — when  many  of  the  most  ardent  opposers  of 
Mr.  Madison's  administration  were  among  the  most 
zealous  supporters  of  that  of  Mr.  Monroe — when, 
in  fine,  every  motive  of  policy,  prudence,  and  com- 
mon sense,  entered  a  solemn  protest  against  touch- 
ing the  inauspicious  subject,  even  if  your  accusations 
were  irrefragable,  and^afortivri^  as  they  were  utterly 
destitute  of  truth.  "  Preserve  me  from  my  friends," 


PREFACE. 


XIII 


ause  eve- 
e  legisla- 
a  mani- 
il  friends 
?   refrain 
''ement  to 
brd  con- 
Ls  haiint- 
ig,  with 
n,  and  a 
5iich  cir- 
y  in  de- 
st  those 
:atastro- 
^  the  re- 
d  blot  it 

id  what 

rekind- 

in  the 

ihilated 

carcely 

citizen 

follies, 

imet  of 

jsers  of 

le  most 

-when, 

d  com- 

touch- 

sations 

utterly 

lends," 


says  the  Spanish  proverb,  "  and  I  will  guard  against 
my  enemies."  If  you  intended  to  serve,  or  ingra- 
tiate yourself  wit!!,  e  party  whom  you  undertake  to 
vindicate,  you  afFord  a  most  felicitous  illustration  of 
the  adage. 

"  If  it  be  mischievous,"  you  say,  "  to  keep  alive 
hatred  apd  prejudices — to  exasperate  the  passions — 
and  give  false  impressions  to  one  part,  respecting 
another,  of  the  community,  the  epithet"  [what  epi- 
thet?] "  belongs  to  your  Olive  Branch." 

Before  admitting  the  correctness  of  this  superfine 
logic,  which  is  a  luminous  instance  of  the  petitio  prin- 
cipii,  it  is  necessary  for  you  to  prove  that  the  ten- 
dency of  the  work  is  ''  to  keep  alive  hatred  and  pre- 
judices— to  exasperate  the  passions — and  give  false 
impressions  to  one  part,  respecting  another,  of  the 
community," 

To  this  proof  I  dare  you,  with  the  fullest  confi- 
dence of  a  total  failure. 

I  have  sometimes  attempted  to  reconcile  angry 
and  irritated  individuals: — and  as  there  were  almost 
always  "  faults  on  both  sides,"  I  uniformly  found, 
that  the  safest  and  mq|t  certain  course  of  proceeding 
was  to  convince  each  of  his  error,  in  order  to  produce 
a  conciliator}'  spirit.  On  this  system  was  predicated 
the  plan  of  the  Olive  Branch — and  notwithstanding 
the  petulant,  oracular,  and  dogmatical  denuncia- 
tion of  the  author  of  "Letters  on  the  Eastern  States," 
I  am  supported  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  best  men 
in  the  country,  in  the  opinion  that  it  has  had  a  con- 
siderable effect  in  allaying  the  deleterious  spirit  of 
party. 


6 


(*■ 


V 
•■!  ^  J!  I 


|l 


'■ 


i 


!■'■:■ 


't  i 

i'i.:-  1 


ll 


XIV 


PREFACE. 


I  now  bid  you,  I  hope,  a  final  farewell.  "  It  is 
not,"  to  repeat  your  own  words,  "  my  intention  to 
engage  in  any  discussion"  with  you.  Your  virulent 
lampoon  "  came  in  my  way :"  and  in  my  own  de- 
fence "  I  gave  my  opinion  of  itj"  with  what  justice, 
let  the  public  decide. 

Your  obt.  hble.  servt. 

MATHEW  CAREY. 
Philadelphia^  Jan.  6,  1821. 

P.  S.  This  correspondence,  with  the  exposure  of 
your  gross  misrepresentation,  shall  be  deposited  in 
most  of  the  libraries  in  Massachusetts. 

I  fondly  hope  I  shall  be  believed  when  I  solemnly 
declare,  that  I  have  entered  on  this  defence  with 
deep  regret— that  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  nation 
who  more  sincerely  wishes  to  bury  in  oblivion  the  er* 
rors  and  follies  of  past  times — and  to  make  the  most 
eamect  efforts  to  foster  a  spirit  of  harmony  and  con* 
I  illation,  than     *  ,. 

the  public's  obt.  hble.  servt. 

.  M.  C. 

Philadelphia^  jfan.  15,  182^ 


ii 


r\. 


ADDRESS,  &c. 


NO.  I. 


SIR, 

Your  second  letter  contains  some  extrcmcly 
sevcre  strictures  on  the  Olive  Branch,  and  its  author. 
The  title  of  the  former  you  regard  as  an  egregious 
misnomer,  and  declare  it  ought  to  be,  *••  the  Torch  of 
Alecto^  or  perpetual  rancour  and  animosity.''''  To  the 
latter  you  ascribe  motives  of  the  most  sinister  and 
dishonourable  kind. 

Although  perfectly  satisfied  of  the  glaring  injustice 
of  this  sentence  of  condemnation,  I  had  some  hesi- 
tation about  undertaking  a  vindication,  i  felt  inclin- 
ed to  let  the  decision  rest  with  the  public  ;  as  I  had 
flattered  myself  that  the  Olive  Branch  had  taken  its 
permanent  stand  in  the  pu^  lie  estimation,  by  a  sort 
of  common  consent  of  all  parties  ;  that  it  was  regard- 
ed as  the  production  of  a  man  of  moderate  talents, 
but  of  considerable  industry  and  research;  that  it 
was  admitted  to  have  contributed,  in  no  small  degree, 
towards  allaying  the  deleterious  spirit  of  party,  so  in- 
jurious to  republics,  by  holding  the  mirror  up  to  both 
parties,  and  by  displaying  the  enormous  follies,  and 
worse  than  follies,  of  which  they  had  respectively 
been  guilty  \  and,  finally,  that  it  was,  at  least,  as  free 


k 


» 


If 


m 
J 

m 


/ '; 


JO 


Address  to  the  JVriter  of 


HI 
i 


from  undue  bias  or  partiality,  as,  human  imperfec- 
tion  considered,  could  have  been   reasonably  ex- 
pected.    If  in  these  favourable  opinions  I  erred,  I 
was  in  a  great  degree  excusable,  as  they  had  been 
reiterated  to  me  from  various  and  opposite  quarters 
of  the  union,  by  some  of  the  wisest,  best,  and  most 
enlightened  members  of  both  the  contending  parties. 
To  one  characteristic,  I  presumed,  this  work  could 
fairly  lay  claim — that  it  is,  probably,  the  only  one  ever 
written  by  a  professed  party  man,  which  unqualifiedly 
holds  up  his  own  party  to  censure.     This,  I  hoped, 
>vould  atone  for  its  errors,  whatever  they  might  be. 
But  it  appears,  according  to  your  dictum,  that  I 
was  egregiously  wrong  ;  that  I  was  under  a  most 
extraordinary  delusion  ;  as  "  a  more  malignant  de- 
sign  was  never  planned^''  than  actuated  the  writer  of 
this  "  Torch  of  Alccto  i''  which  beldame,  Alecto,  is 
one  of  the  furies,  whose  head  is  surrounded  by  vipers, 
and  who  is  armed  with  scourges,  vipers,  and  torches. 
This,  truly,  is  a  most  t  ji  mendous  denunciation  ;  and, 
if  any  thing  more  than  the  effusion  of  a  distempered 
and  heated  imagination,  would  prove  me  utterly  un- 
worthy of  the  delicate  and  important  task  I  under- 
took. 

Your  whole  letter,  on  the  politics  of  the  country, 
is  radically  wrong,  and  places  the  parties,  their  prin- 
ciples, their  views,  and  their  conduct,  in  an  incorrect 
point  of  light.  It  as  unjustly  elevates  the  one,  as  it 
depreciates  the  other.  It  might  have  been  pardon- 
able, if  written  in  1812,  '13,  or  '14,  during  the  effer- 
vescence of  party  spirit  and  faction ;  but,  written  in 
1820,  IS  as  striking  an  instance  of  delusion  and  error 
^  .  pro'^abiy  ever  was  exhibited.     Both  parties  have 


Lettfrs  on  the  Eastern  States. 


11 


egreglously  and  ruinously  erred  ;  and  it  is  no  easy 
matter  to  determine  which  has  the  greatest  cataU^j^ue 
of  errors  to  atone  for. 

With  the  view,  however,  which  you  have  given  oi 
the  parties,  I  have  no  concern.  Let  those  who  feci  in- 
terested, point  out  its  errors.  My  husiness  is  with  tlie 
judgment  jou  have  allowed  yourself  to  pass  on  mc 
and  my  work. 

But  in  order  to  enable  those  M'ho  may  read  this 
reply,  and  may  not  have  read  the  "  Letters  on  the 
Eastern  States,"  to  form  a  correct  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  to  guard  against  the  charge  of  misquotation, 
X  annex  the  exceptionable  part  of  your  letter  in  full : 

"  An  octavo  volume,  co77ipUed  hy  an  Irish  book- 
"  seller  in  Philadelphia,  has,  if  the  title  page  may 
*'  be  believed,  gone  through  a  dozen  editions  : 
**  patriotism  and  profit  are  both  served  by  the  sale 
*'  of  the  work,  which  is  entitled, '  The  Olive  Branch, 
"  or  Faults  on  both  Sides.'  Under  this  prett}'  name, 
"  parties  are  to  be  reconciled,  and  differences  heal- 
"  ed,  by  a  candid  exhibition  of  mutual  errors. — 
*'  What  is  the  performance  ?  Passing  over  the  dul- 
"  ness  of  a  parcel  of  extracts  from  old  newspapers, 
"  it  has  selected^  with  a  delicacy  and  tenderness  tru- 
"  ly  affectionate^  a  few  slips  on  o;/^  i/V/e?,  which  are 
"  softened  with  pathetic  regrets  and  apologies ; 
"  but  from  the  other,  the  strongest  passages  in  re- 
"  monstrances  against  particidar  measures  ;  ALL 
"  the  violences  of  newspaper  paragraphs^  in  the 
'■''  highest  moments  of  irritation  :  ALL  the  ebullitions 
''  of  declaimers^  whose  infirmities  of  temper  may' 
"  have  led  thcm^  in  vioments  of  excitement^    info 


■i 


f 


*l^: 


r^t 


■if! 


(i: 


ft;  i  • 

m 

m 


12 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


f 

\ 


^^  extravaq-ance ;  every  thing  infammatory  that 
^^  can  he  found  mnong'  insulated  speeches^  sermons^ 
"  and  gazettes  y  for  a  series  oftjears^  when  the  high- 
"  est  political  ferment  existed  ;  All  THESE  arc 
"  brought  together  as  a  regular  plan,  a  continued 
"  system  of  inconsistency,  discord,  and  faction.— 
**  This  is  about  as  fair  as  it  would  be  to  make  ex- 
"  tra' ts  from  the  bills  of  mortality  in  Philadelphia, 
*'  during  the  most  fatal  season  of  the  yellow  fever, 
*'  and  from  those  of  Boston  in  a  healthy  sum- 
*'  mer,  and  give  them  as  a  true  specimen  of  the  sa- 
"  lubrity  of  the  two  cities. 

"  A  more  malignant  design  cculd  hardly  have  been 
"  imagined:  though  a  vsmile  is  excited  by  a  certain 
**  national  raciness  in  the  title  of  this  book,  which 
"  should  have  been  the  torch  of  Alecto^  or  perpetual 
"  rancour  and  animosity.  A  work,  indeed,  of  the 
*'  kind  to  which  this  makes  a  hypocritical  pretence^ 
*'  might  become  a  text  book  of  permanent  utility, 
"  to  teach  political  morality  and  wisdom  to  future 
"  statesmen ;  but  it  must  not  be  the  paltry  tmptdse 
**  of  party  y  or  pecuniary  thrifty  that  should  guide  the 
**  author.  Who  is  there  to  undertake  such  a  work  ? 
"  Who  is  there  with  sufficient  sagacity  and  know- 
"  ledge  for  the  task,  and  at  the  same  time,  suji' 
•*  cie?it  independence  of  his  own  times  ?" — Letters, 
pp.  28,  29. 


f 


Your  allegations  against  the  Olive  Branch  are  : 

1.  That  I  have  selected  but  "  a  few  slips  on  one 
side,'*''  I.  e.  the  democratic  party,  which  I  have  "  sof- 
tened with  pathetic  regrets.^'* 


ft. 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


13 


4: 


2.  Th'  T  have  collected  together, "  every  thing  in- 
flammatory that  can  be  found  among-  insulated  speech- 
es, sermons,  and  gazettes,  for  a  series  of  years,"  to 
defame  and  disgrace  the  other  party. 

3.  That  I  have  been  under  "  the  paltry  impulse 
of  party,  or  pecuniary  thrift,"  in  writing  the  Olive 
Branch. 

4.  That  this  work  has  not  gone  through  so  many 
editions  as  is  stated  in  the  title  page. 

5.  That  it  makes  a  hypocritical  pretence  to  impar- 
tiality and  fairness. 

6.  That  it  is  a  mere  compilation. 

7.  That  I  did  not  possess  sufficient  independence 
for  the  task  I  undertook. 

The  third,  fourth,  and  seventh  items,  are  not,  it  is 
true,  distinctly  stated ;  but  they  are  clearly  implied. 

I  shall  consider  each  item  in  detail,  and  hope  to 
prove,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public,  that  the  accu- 
sations are  wholly  unjust,  and  that  you  either  did 
not  read  the  work  in  question  at  all ;  or,  if  you  read 
it,  must  have  forgotten  its  contents  ;  or,  finally,  if  you 
remembered  them,  that  your  have  wilfully  misrepre- 
sented them. 

On  the  charge  of  intentional  misrepresentation, 
however,  I  am  not  disposed  to  insist ;  as  the  fair- 
ness, candour,  liberal  spirit,  and  enlightened  views, 
generally  displayed  in  your  work,  appear  incompati- 
ble with  the  idea  of  such  dishonest  conduct. 

T7ie  Writer  of  the  Olive  Branch^ 
/'  Philadelphia,  Dec.  10,  1820.         T  :\  ^^"^^        ' 


h 


.,i%  i 


1  *i 


PI 


[      14     J 


NO.  11. 


Your  first  allegation  against  the  Olive  Branch 
imports,  that  in  stating  the  errors  and  guilt  of  the  de- 
mocratic party,  which,  you  assert,  was  done  out  of 
"  a  hypocritical  pretence*^  of  impartiality,  I  adduced 
but  '*  afcxv  slips;''''  that  even  these  were  extenuated 
and  palliated  by  "  regrets  and  apologies  ;"  and,  as  a 
corollary,  you  give  your  readers  to  understand,  that  I 
suppressed  the  great  mass,  including  all  that  were 
of  a  heinous  nature. 

That  this  strain  of  accusation  is  absolutely  express- 
ed, or  clearly  implied,  appears  indubitable  from  a 
perusal  of  your  own  words.  "  It  [the  Olive  Branch] 
has  selected,  with  a  delicacy  and  tenderness  truly  af- 
fectionate, a  few  slips''"' — yes,  these  are  the  precise 
words — "  afcxv  slips  an  one  side,  which  are  softened 
with  pathetic  regrets  and  apologies."  Letters.,  p.  28. 

Here,  sir,  we  are  fairly  at  issue. 

If  the  accusation  be  established,  it  clearly  follows^ 
that  I  have  been  guilty  of  a  base  literary  and  political 
fraud  ;  that  my  work  ought  to  have  been  consigned 
to  oblivion  ;  and,  moreover,  that  I  deserve  the  most 
pointed  reprehension  of  every  honest  and  enlightened 
member  of  the  community.  But  on  the  contrary,  if 
I  prove  these  charges  utterly  destitute  of  foundation, 
it  will  be  equally  clear,  that  you  have  been  guilty  of 
gross  calumny,  and  that  you  are  a  false  accuser,  justly 
liable  to  the  penalties,  which,  had  I  been  guilty,  I 


Address  to  the  IVnter  of  Letters^  BV'.  IJ 

hliould  have  incurred.  From  these  penalties  voii  can 
he  exonerated  only  by  the  ])lea  of  inadvertence,  <jj 
mistake  of  the  tenour  and  contents  of  the  work  you 
undertook  to  review  with  such  extreme  severity. 
The  nature  of  3'our  offence  will  thus  be  changed. 
Instead  of  a  verdict  of  deliberate  falsehood  and  malice, 
you  will  be  brought  in  guilty  of  palpable  and  unpar- 
donable neglect. 

I  now  proceed  to  state  some  of  the  charges  I  have 
adduced  against  the  democratic  party,  and  it  will 
soon  appear  how  erroneously  they  are  characterized 
in  point  of  number  and  magnitude.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  terms  "  few"  and  "  slips,"  are  wholly  un- 
warranted ;  as,  on  the  contrary,  they  arc  many  and 
grievous » 


1-  r- 


I.   The  Western  InsurrectioJi. 


'^  Among  the  sins  of  the  democratic  party,  tlie 
'^  xvestem  insurrection  claims  a  proud  pre-eminence. 
"  Had  it  not  been  met  with  the  energy  and  deci- 
"  sion  which  Gen.  Washington  displayed  on  the 
"  occasion,  its  obvious  tendency  was,  and  the  pro- 
"  bable  result  would  have  been,  to  destroy  the  re- 
"  cently-raised  fcibric  of  the  federcd  government — 
"  the  pride  of  the  new — the  admiration  of  the  old 
"  world.  The  wise  and  the  good  of  this  country, 
''  and  of  Europe,  regarded  the  crisis  with  the  deep- 
"  est  awe  and  solicitude.  The  prospect  was  calcu- 
"  lated  to  appal  persons  of  no  mean  degree  of  for- 
"  titude.  The  fate  of  unborn  millions  hung  for 
*'  a  season  io,  suspense  and  doubt.     Heaven  smiled 


..,1 


M 


\l 


{ 


!'     ii 


16 


AiUrC'Sti  to  the  Writer  of 


"  propitiously  on  us  ;  it  interposed  for  our  suh  a- 
"  tion.  Our  executive  magistrate  wisely  called 
**  forth  an  overwhelming  force,  which  frowned 
"  down  treason  and  rebellion. — They  shrunk,  shud- 
"  dering  with  terror,  into  tlieir  dens,  and  called  oy 
"  the  mountains  to  cover  them. 

"  This  heinous  sin^  hideous  cnouj^h  under  any 
^'' possibleform^  is  greatly  aggravated  by  a  consider- 
"  ation  of  the  subject  that  led  to  it.  It  was  the 
"  excise  on  spirituous  liquors.  Never  can  the  min- 
*'  isters  of  taxation  appear  in  a  less  exceptionable 
**  form,  than  when  they  derive  means  of  defraying 
"  the  expenses  of  government,  from  limiting  the 
"  horrible  ravages  of  the  destroyer,  drunkenness, 
*'  which,  by  profound  observers,  is  believed  to  de- 
"  vour  more  human  victims  than  the  sword."— 
"  Olive  Branchy  10th  ed.  p,  453. 

//.  Democratic  Societies, 


*  J 


!■ 


u 
u 


^'  During  the  inflammation  of  the  public  mind, 
excited  by  the  recent  French  revolution,  and 
by  the  art  and  address  of  M.  Genet,  the  democra- 
tic party,  then  in  a  minority,  established  democra- 
tic societies,  which,  by  their  affiliations  in  every 
ramification  of  the  United  States,  were  intended 
and  expected,  by  co-operation,  to  overawe  the 
administration — to  dismount  their  antagonists — 
and  to  enable  the  leaders  to  vault  into  the  vacant 
saddles.  This  effect  they  would  indubitably 
have  produced,  but  that  they  were  denounced 
by  Gen.  Washington  and  both  houses  of  Con- 


Letters  on  the  Eatttcrn  Statts\ 


ir 


**  gi'css,  as  having  been  implicaud  in  encouraging 
"  the  opposition  to  the  general  government,  whiih, 
"  finally,  led  to  the  western  insurrection.  Tliia 
*^Was  a  mortal  stroke  to  them,  and  totally  enfce- 
"  bled  them  thenceforward.'' — P.  480. 


1 


>> 


///.  Defence  of  I  he  atrocities  of  the  French  Revolu- 

lion. 

"While  the  succession  of  monsters  prcserMd 
"  the  name  of  '  French  Republic,  one  and  indivi- 
**  sible^'  the  democrats  clung  to  the  cause  most 
"  steadfastly.  Faction  blinded  us  to  the  7nass  of 
^'•wretchedness  that  overspread  the  face  of  France. 
"  We  palliated  the  noyades,  the  unprecedented  fu- 
*'  sillades,  the  slaughters  at  Lyons  and  elsewhere. 
"*  It  was  a  republic  in  name  :  that  single  word  was 
"  enough  to  lull  us  to  sleep — to  render  us  blind, 
**  and  deaf,  and  dumb  to  the  mountains  of  misery 
"  endured  under  the  pretended  republic,  which 
"  'exceeded  in  one  year  all  that  France  had  endured 
**  under  the  Bourbons  in  twenty.'  We  lauded, 
"  and  toasted,  and  belaurelled  the  murderous  lead- 
"  ers,  whose  deeds  spoke  more  of  the  hyaena,  the 
"  panther,  or  the  tiger,  than  those  of  the  human 
"  being.  Our  attachment  remained,  when  the  cause 
"  of  the  rulers  of  France,  (it  was  no  longer  the  cause 
"  of  the  nation^)h'ddheconic  '  a  stench  in  the  nostrils 
"  of  Heaven  ;'  and  every  man  who  dared  to  doubt 
''  the  justice  and  propriety  of  the  murderous  scenes 
"  exhibited  in  France,  w^as  denounced  as  a  tory  or 
"  a  monarchist." — P.  405. 


W 


ll 


^ 

li 


w 


i 
i 


11  u 


f 


(  -i 

.1;* 


18 


Ac/dres6'  to  the  Writer  oj 


IV.  Opposition  to  a  Navy. 

"  The  steady  and  factious  opposition  made  by  the 
"  democratic  party .f  to  the  establishment  of  a  small 
''  fiavy.,  adequate  at  least  to  the  protection  of  our 
*'  oxvn  coasty  has  by  the  event  been  proved  most 
"  wretched  and  miserable  policy . — !♦•  arose,  as  well 
"  from  a  spirit  of  hostility  toward  the  party  in 
**  power,  as  from  a  sordid  and  contemptible  spirit 
*'  of  economy,  which  has  in  many  instances  dis- 
"  graced  and  dishonoured  this  party,  who  havefre- 
"  quently  proved  themselves,  to  use  a  very  trite, 
''  but  very  expressive  proverb,  '  penny  wise — 
"  pound  foolish.' — When  we  analyse  the  boasted 
"  spirit  of  economy,  to  which  the  opposition  to  a 
"  navy  may  be  in  part  ascribed,  we  shall  find  it 
"  arises  from  two  sources  :  the  one,  men  of  narrow 
*'  minds  carrying  into  public  the  huckstering  habits 
"  of  private  life  :  the  other,  a  base  spirit  of  courting 
*■'•  popularity y  by  husbanding  the  public  treasure.^ 
even  oti  occasions  xvhcn  liberality  is  true  economy ^ 
which  as  frequently  occur  in  public  affairs  as  in 
*'  private  life. — Both  motives  are  equally  contemp- 
"  tible  :  but  the  latter  is  the  more  pernicious,  and 
"produces  the  most  ruinous  consequences:  it 
"  starves  and  smothers  public  undertakings,  and 
"  public  spirit ;  and  often  defrauds  illustrious  men 
"  of  their  due  rewards.  It  is  the  characteristic  vice 
"  of  our  times  and  of  our  nation ;  and.  ought  to  be 
"  hunted  down  by  every  man  xvho  has  a  real  regard 
*'\for  the  honour  and  interest  of  his  country.'*^ 
*'  I  feel  confident  that  the  nation  has  lost  five 


it 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


19 


***  hundred  times  as  much,  through  the  want  of  a 
**  small  navy,  as  that  navy  would  have  cost.  Num- 
"  bers  of  instances  have  occurred,  of  valuable  mer- 
"  chantmen  having  been  captured  by  petty  picka- 
"  roons  with  one  or  two  guns. — Our  ports  have 
'■'  been  insulted  and  outraged,  and  the  ships  and 
"  cargoes  of  our  merchants  plundered  by  priva- 
"  teers  and  sloops  of  war,  which  a  few  armed  ves- 
"  sels  would  have  forced  to  keep  at  a  respectful 
"  distance.  There  is  none  of  the  points  on  zvhich 
*'  the  txvo  hostile  parties  have  differed^  wherein  the 
*'  democrats  have  been  so  far  heloxv  their  adversaries 
*^  in  consulting'  the  real^  the  permanent  honour  and 
"  interests  of  the  country ^  as  the  establishment  of  a 
"  naval  force.  The  policy  of  the  federalists  in  this 
"  respect  was  dignified  and  honourable ;  that  of 
"  the  democrats  miserably  contracted." — P.  47, 
*'  49. 


J-  : 


Now,  sir,  I  call  upon  you,  as  a  gentlemen,  to  say 
whether  these  two  paragraphs,  if  they  stood  singly, 
would  not  be  sufficient  to  disprove  your  allegations  ? 
Do  they  support  you  in  the  odious  charge  of  "  hyp- 
ocritical pretences'''*  to  impartiality  ?  Is  the  conduct 
here  denounced  a  mere  ^^slip?^^  Is  it  not  a  most 
grievous  error  ?  Is  it  softened  by  any  *■'' pathetic  re- 
grets  or  apologies?''''  Is  it  not  denounced  in  as  strong 
language  as  you  yourself  would  have  used  in  the 
highest  paroxysm  of  party  rage  and  violence  ?  Is 
not  the  style  of  reprobation  I  have  employed  incom- 
parably more  liable  to  objection  and  censure  for  its 
caustic  severity,  than  for  its  undue  lenity,  or  *'  soft- 
ening'^'' tcnour  ? 


u     t 


i]  \ 


Ijlj 


I 


20  Address  to  the  Writer  of 


V.  Alien  and  Sedition  Larvs^  and  eight  per  cent. 

loans. 

"  The  factious  clamour  excited  against  the  alien 
"  and  sedition  laws^  and  against  the  eight  per  cent. 
"  loan  ; — which  clamour  was  the  principal  means 
"  of  changing  the  administration,  and  taking  it 
"  from  the  hands  of  the  federalists,  to  place  it  in 
"  those  of  the  democrats — rnai/  be  justly  reckoned 
"  among  the  sins  of  the  latter  party.  A  candid 
"  review  of  the  so-styled  sedition  law,  at  the  pre*- 
*•*•  sent  hour,  when  the  public  ferment,  to  which  it 
"  gave  rise,  has  wholly  subsided,  will  satisfy  any 
"  reasonable  man,  that  so  far  from  being  an  out- 
"  rageous  infringement  of  liberty,  as  was  asserted, 
"  it  was  a  measure  not  merely  defensible,  but  ab- 
"  solutely  necessary  and  indispensable  to  the  sup' 
*^  port  of  government." — F.  50. 

On  this  paragraph  a  few  brief  observations  are 
necessary.  I  hope  it  affords  a  strong  proof  of  that 
'^  sufficient  independence  of  his  own  titncs,''^  which 
you  deem  an  indispensable  requisite  for  a  writer  who 
undertakes  a  review  of  cotemporaneous  parties  and 
politics.  On  those  important  laws  I  differed  from 
the  great  mass  of  the  democratic  party,  of  whom 
ninety  nine  in  a  hundred  reprobated,  and  still  rep- 
robate them.  It  is  wholly  unimportant,  as  to  the 
case  between  us,  whether  I  was  right  or  wrong.  The 
only  quertion  is,  whether  I  had  "  sufficient  independ- 
ence''^ to  denounce  the  party  to  which  I  adhered,  when 
I  conscientiously  believed  their  conduct  unjust.     I 


Letters  07i  the  Eastern  States. 


21 


trust  that  the  answer  must  be  in  the  affirmative,  and 
that  it  utterly  disproves  your  allegations. 

"  The  eight  per  cent,  loan  remains.  It  was  unit- 
"  cd  with,  and  increased  the  clamour  against,  the 
**  alien  and  sedition  laws ;  and  these  unpopular 
**  measures,  as  I  have  already  observed,  precipi- 
"  tated  the  federalists  from  power  ;  yet  we  have 
"  since  found  that  their  successors,  the  democrats, 
*'  have  themselves  given  about  eight  per  cent,  on 
"  some  of  their  loans." — F.  52. 

VI.  Oppositio7i  to  Jay^s  Treaty. 

"  The  violent  opposition  to  this  instrument, 
"  which  pervaded  the  union,  and  greatly  disturb- 
"  ed  the  administration  of  General  Washington, 
"  tvas  a  highly  factious  procedure  on  the  part  of  the 
*'  democrats^  who  were  led  away  by  objections, 
*'  plausible  but  unsubstantial — hardly  any  of  which 
"  have  been  realized." — P.  52. 


■[  , 


!>' 


if 


•^l' 


m 


FII.  Rejection  of  Monroe  and  Pinkney'^s  Treaty. 

"  Two  ministers,  appointed  by  Mr.  JcfFtrson, 
"  had  negociated  a  treaty  with  England,  the  best 
"  they  could  obtain. — It  had  been  transmitted  to 
"  him  in  due  form.  Without  consulting  the  Sen- 
"  ate,  the  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  treaty-making 
"  power,  he,  on  his  own  responsibility,  rejected  it, 
"  and  transmitted  it  to  these  ministers  to  begin 
**  their  negociations  anew.  This  xvas  a  mighty  and 
^^  fatal  error.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  it  were 
**  Jiot  a  violation,  at  least  of  the  spirit  of  the  consti^ 


Ifri' 


III 


oo 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


*'  tiifiou.  It  was,  at  all  events,  a  case  thatproba- 
**  bly  did  not  enter  into  the  conceptions  of  the  fra- 
"  mers  of  that  instrument.  If  it  had,  it  is  likely 
"  they  would  have  provided  against  its  occurrence. 
"  A  calm  reflection  on  this  subject  can  hardly 
'^  fail  to  convince  the  reader,  that  to  this  source 
"  7nay  probably  be  traced  nearly  all  our  late  diffi- 
"  culties.  Had  this  treaty  been  submitted  to  the 
'  Senate,  they  would,  in  all  likelihood,  have  rati- 
^'  fied  the  chief  parts  of  it ;  and,  as  had  been  the 
"  case  with  Jay's  treaty,  referred  the  obnoxious 
*'•  clauses  to  a  new  discussion.  Our  disputes  with 
"  England  would  thus  have  been  compromised  ; 
"  and  our  party  divisions  could  never  have  been 
*'  excited  to  such  a  height  as  to  endanger  the  peace 
*''  and  security  of  the  country." — P.  oZ. 


t 


"  The  rejection  was  treating  Mr.  Jefferson's 
"  own  ministers  very  cavalierly,  to  use  no  stronger 
"  languiige.  But  this  was  by  no  means  the  most 
"  exceptionable  feature  of  the  transaction.  It  was 
"  treating  with  slight,  perhaps  I  might  add,  with 
"  contempt,  the  government  of  a  mighty  nation, 
"  entitled,  from  its  high  rank  among  the  pAiropean 
"  powers,  to  respect  and  attendon.  But  the  worst 
^''feature  remains.  It  indubitably  quadrupled  the 
"  chances  of  war^  which  ought  to  be  studiously 
"  avoided  bij  every  fair  and  honourable  means  ;  of 
"  which  the  issue  is  at  all  times  precarious  ;  and 
*'  pre-eminently  so,  between  two  nations  so  un- 
'*  equall)  matched  in  point  of  resources  as  the  Uni- 
"ted  States  and  Lng.aaa." — P.  4(59.  -    ..,. 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


23 


I  might  descant  at  large  on  the  "  independence'''' 
requisite  to  animadvert  so  severely  on  the  conduct 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  predicated  on  the  respect  and  ven- 
eration entertained  ibr  him  by  the  democratic  purt\'. 
But  i  waive  the  task  as  wholly  unnecessary. 


VIII.  Non  renerval  of  the  Charter  of  the  Bank  of  t fie 

..  ••  'fEv:   V!       -  United  States. 

^^  Amoyig  the  great  si?is  of  the  democratic  party 
"  during'  Mr.  Mad'isorCs  administration.,  must  be 
"  numbered  the  non-renewal  of  the  cliarter  of 
"  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  This  circum- 
''  stance  injuriously  affected  the  character  and  crc- 
"  dit  of  this  country  abroad — produced  a  great 
"  degree  of  stagnation,  distress,  and  difficulty  at 
''  home — and  was  among  the  causes  of  the  late 
"  embarrassments  and  difficulties  of  the  pecuniary 
''  concerns  of  the  country.  Had  this  Bank  been 
*Vin  existence,  its  capital  might  readily  at  any  time 
"  have  been  increased  by  Congress,  10,  20,  or  30, 
"  millions,  so  as  to  aid  the  government  most  effec- 
"  tually,  and  support  the  national  credit." — F.  58, 


»  • 


^. 


fi- 


On  this  subject,  too,  as  well  as  the  alien  and  sedi- 
tion laws,  I  was  almost  universally  condemned  by 
the  great  body  of  the  democratic  party,  who  regard- 
ed the  institution  as  unconstitutional.  It  is,  as  in 
the  former  case,  foreign  to  my  present  purpose,  to 
discuss  the  question,  on  which  side  lay  the  correct 
opinion.  The  only  point  worth  notice  here  is  the 
"  independence''''  these  strictures  display. 


II   ! 


ill 


i!f' 


I 


24, 


JX. 


Address  t§  the  Writer  9f 

Rejection  of  the  Armistice  proposed  by  Admired 

Warren, 

"  Whatever  might  have  been  the  justice,  neces- 
sity, or  policy  of  the  war,  it  was  a  great  error, 
when  the  orders  in  Council  were  repealed,  and 
an  armistice  offered  by  the  British  government, 
not  to  accept  it. — Negociations  for  the  removal 
of  the  rest  of  our  grievances  might  have  taken 
place,  and  would  undoubtedly  have  been  con- 
ducted under  more  favourable  auspices  than 
those  that  preceded  them  ;  for  England  having 
discovered  that  she  had  calculated  too  far  on 
our  passiveness,  would  have  been  far  more  dis** 
posed  to  do  us  justice." — P.  60. 


'ir 


I 


I 


X,  Appointment  *of  Ar.  Gallatin  as  Ambassador  to 

treat  with  England. 

"  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Gallatin,  as  minister 
to  treat  with  the  court  of  St.  James's,  was  a  very 
considerable  error.  This  gentleman  has  had  the 
reputation,  probably  with  justice,  of  being  one 
of  the  ablest  financiers  in  this  country.  For 
twelve  years  he  had  presided  over  the  financial 
concerns  of  the  nation  ;  during  which  period, 
moderate  talents  were  adequate  to  the  duties  of 
that  station.  But  a  crisis  had  arrived  when  the 
abilities  of  a  Colbert,  or  a  Sully,  or  a  Ximenes, 
might  be  necessary  ;  and  most  injudiciously  and 
indefensibly  he  was  then  dispatched  to  another 
hemisphere  ;  and  his  duties  devolved,  ad  interim, 
on  another  officer,  whose  proper  official  duties 
require  alibis  time  and  all  his  talents. 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


25 


"  This  measure  was  highly  preposterous.  It  was 
"  incorrect  in  the  president  to  confer,  it  was  equal- 
"  ly  incorrect  in  the  secretary  to  receive,  the  ap- 
"  pointment.  It  was  the  less  defensible,  from  the 
"  circumstance  that  nearly  all  the  democrats  in 
"the  United  States,  had,  in  1794,  utterly  disap- 
"  proved  of,  and  declaimed  against,  the  appoint- 
"  ment,  by  Cieneral  Washington,  of  Judge  Jay  to 
"  negociate  a  treaty  with  Great-Britain,  pending 
"his  continuance  as  a  Judge.  It  is  moreover  ob- 
*'  vious  that  the  absence  of  one  Judge  cannot  pro- 
"  duce  any  material  inconvenience  ;  as  there  are 
"  always  others  to  supply  his  place.  But  there 
"  are  high  and  responsible  duties  attached  to  the 
"  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  which  can 
"  never,  without  very  great  impropriety,  be  de- 
"  volved  on  a  deputy." — /*.  63»        . 

XI.  Neg'ociation  at  Gottenbitrgh. 

'■■  "  At  a  period  when  it  was  of  immense  impor- 
"  tance  to  the  United  States  to  close  the  war  as 
"  speedily  as  possible,  the  President  had  the  alter- 
"  native  of  London  or  Gottenburgh  as  the  scene 
"  of  negociation.  We  had  been  unfortunate  by 
"  land  through  treason,  incapacity,  or  some  other 
"  cause.  It  was  our  interest  to  accelerate — it  was 
"  that  of  the  British  to  procrastinate  the  negocia- 
"  tions.  The  chances  from  delay  were  much  in 
"  their  favour.  War  is  moreover  a  component 
"  part  of  their  system:  ours  is  calculated  for  peace. 
"  These  observations  acquired  treble  force  from  a 
"  reflection  on  the  disaffection  of  the  eastern  por- 
"  tion  of  the  union,  and  its  aversion  to  the  w^ar ; 

9   # 


(i 


fi 


i 


( 


26 


u 
•I 
hi 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 

of  course,  we  ought  to  have  shunned  whatever 
might  produce  delay.  It  was  therefore  most 
extraordinary  and  unaccountable  that  the  Presi- 
dent should  have  chosen  Gottenburgh  in  prefer- 
ence to  London,  under  all  the  obvious  delays 
resulting  from  the  necessity  that  would  probably 
arise,  or  be  pretended,  to  consult  the  court  of 
St.  Jameses  by  the  ministers  of  that  court.  It 
appears  almost  as  absurd  as  it  would  be  to  choose 
the  Havanna,  or  Port  Royal^  were  the  negocia' 
tiofis  to  be  conducted  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.^"* 
P.  64. 

XII.  Capture  of  Washiiigton. 

"  It  is  not  for  me  to  decide  on  whom  the  cen- 
sure ought  to  fall — on  the  President — the  Secre- 
tary at  War — on  the  district-general  Winder — 
or  on  the  whole  together.  But  let  that  point  be 
determined  as  it  may,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that 
7iothing  but  the  most  culpable  neglect  could  have 
led  to  the  results  that  took  place — results  which 
could  not  fail  to  prove  injurious  to  the  national 
character  in  Europe,  and  which,  had  not  the 
news  of  the  exploits  of  the  brave  and  illustrious 
Macdonough  and  Maeomb  arrived  there  cotem- 
poran«ously  with  the  account  of  this  disgraceful 
disaster,  would  have  materially  and  perniciously 
affected  th«  negocialion  at  Ghent." — P.  73. 


XIII.  Dependence  on  loans  for  support  of  the  war  at 

the  commencement. 

**  Perhaps  the  most  grievous  and  unpardonable 
"  error  of  the  <kfnocratic  party  f-^an  error  pregnant 


X 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States, 


2r 


,i« 


"  with  baneful  consequences  to  the  f  nances  and 
"  credit  of  the  country^ — was  their  depending  on 
*'  loans,  for  the  support  of  the  war,  and  deferring 
'^  the  imposition  of  taxes  adequate  to  erect  the 
"  superstructure  of  public  credit  upon.  This  arose 
'''•from  the  miserable^  the  despicable^  the  pernicious 
''^  dread  of  forfeiting'  popularity^  and  losing  the 
**  reins  of  government — a  dread  often  the  parent 
"  of  the  most  destiuctive  measures.  The  conse- 
"  quence  of  this  highly  reprehensible  error  was, 
"  that  the  loans  were  made  to  very  considerable 
"  loss,  and  the  ^rublic  credit  of  tlie  nation  most  la- 
"  mentablij  impaircd.^^ — P.  80. 


X/r.  I^eglect  of  due  preparations  for  the  dtfence  of 
the  country y  after  the  downfall  of  Bonaparte. 

**  During  all  this  deceitful  calm,  through  which 
"  every  man  of  discernment  might  readUy  and 
"  unerringly  foresee  the  ai)proaches  of  a  fearful 
"  storm,  as  every  indication  from  England,  deserv- 
**  ing  of  credit,  portended  a  long,  a  desperate,  and 
"  a  vindictive  warfare — the  government  of  the  Uni- 
"  ted  States  took  no  measures  to  dispel  the  delusion. 
"  In  vain  the  public  looked  to  Washington  for  in- 
**  formation  on  the  prospect  of  affairs.  All  was 
"  tliere  profoundly  silent.  Administration  must 
*^  have  had  all  the  information  on  the  subject  that 
"  was  in  this  country ;  and  it  was  their  incumbent 
"  duty  to  have  disseminated  abroad  the  result  of 
"  their  intelligence,  that  the  public  might  regulate 
"  their  proceedings,  and  predicate  their  measures 
**  on  rational  and  prudential  calculations.     But 


m 


28 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


*'  this  imperious  duttj  xvas^  I  venture  to  assert^  lit- 
"  terlij  nej^levted.  There  was  not  a  line  of  ofticial 
"  communication  on  the  subject.  And  nothing 
"  appeared  in  the  National  Intelligencer  which 
"  strongly  marked  either  a  probability  of  peace, 
"  or  a  continuance  of  the  war.  As  far,  however, 
"  as  conclusions  could  be  drawn  from  this  semi- 
"  official  paper,  they  warranted  much  more  the 
*'  hope  of  a  restoration  of  peace,  than  fear  of  the 
"  contrary.  This  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  admin- 
"  istration  was^  to  the  last  degree^  culpable.  It  xvas 
"  a  dereliction  of  duty  that  exposed  our  citizens  to 
ruinous  consequences.'*'' — P.  66. 


it 


It 


I  might  have  extended  this  list  to  double  the  num- 
ber of  items ;  but,  to  avoid  prolixity,  I  here  close  it, 
believing  that,  however  reluctantly,  you  must  ac- 
knowledge I  have  not  confined  myself  to  a  '•''  feuo 
slips.'*''  I  now  make  a  solemn  pause.  You  have 
arraigned  me  at  the  bar  of  the  public,  as  having 
fraudulently  suppressed  the  errors  of  the  democratic 
party,  except  "  afevj  slips ^^''  adduced,  I  repeat,  from 
"«  hypocritical  pretence'*''  of  impartiality ;  and  of 
publishing  a  work  under  the  s|)urious  title  of  "  the 
Olive  Branch^"*  which  ought  to  be  styled  "  the  Torch 
of  ^/er^o"— than  which,  you  say,  "  a  more  malig- 
nant design  coidd  hardly  have  been  irnagined.''''  At 
the  same  bar  you  stand  arraigned  as  a  calumniator — 
a  false  accuser.  I  await  the  result  with  perfect  con- 
fidence of  a  favourable  verdict  for 

The  Author  of  the  Olive  Branch. 

F/ii/adelphia,  Dec.  15^1820.  • 


i 


rrt^  tit- 
ofVicial 
lothing 
which 
peace, 
iwever, 
i  scmi- 
)re  the 
of  the 
admin- 
It  xvas 
zens  to 


e  num- 
lose  it, 
List  ac- 
i  ^''few 
1  have 
having 
Qcratic 
:,  from 
md  of 
f  "  the 
Torch 
malig- 
"  At 
ator — 
:t  con- 


^ 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States, 


St 


P.  S.  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  justly  chargeable  with 
vanity  for  asking  you  a  few  simple  questions — ques- 
tions provoked  by  your  unjust  attack.  Do  you  be- 
lieve there  ever  was  a  political  work,  written  by  a 
professed  party  man,  which  so  fully  denounced  the 
follies,  the  errors,  and  the  guilt  of  the  party  of  the 
author  ?  Are  not  all  works  of  this  description  almost 
universally  employed  to  extenuate,  or  deny,  the  er- 
rors of  one  side,  and  to  magnify  those  of  the  other? 
And  is  there  not  some  merit  in  striking  out  a  course 
of  conduct  almost,  or  altogether,  without  precedent  ? 


f  ^ .         ■>> 


P    ■     '•     •*  4    ■    -  •    *        SK  * 


,    t  . 


'1  .  - 


it 


•ranch. 


r>  ; 


l« 


i\ 


I 


{     30     J 


t   ' 


NO.  III. 


..! 


f  :• 


if 


,!-. 


I 


I  FONDLY  hope  that  every  man  of  candour  who  has 
read  the  preceding  number,  will  admit  that  the  ac- 
cusation of  my  having  been  guilty  of  gross  partiali- 
ty, and  having  confined  my  animadversions  on  the 
errors  and  guilt  of  the  democratic  party,  to  "  a  fexv 
A'lip.s'^''^  is  to  the  last  degree  unjust,  and  destitute  of 
the  shadow  of  foundation.  I  trust,  I  shall  have  equal 
success  with  the  next  "  counf^  of  your  indictment, 
•which,  in  your  own  proper  words,  is,  that  I  have 
collected  together,  in  one  hideous  mass — 

"  The  strongest  passages  in  remonstrances 
*'  against  particular  measures;  all  the  violences  of 
*'  newspaper  paragraphs  in  the  highest  moments 
**  of  irritation  ;  all  the  ebullitions  of  declaimerSy 
"  whose  infirmities  may  have  led  them,  in  mo- 
**  ments  of  excitement,  into  extravagance  ;  every 
*'  thing  infammatorif  that  can  be  found  among  insii- 
*^  lated  speeches^  ser?nons^  and  gazettes,  for  a  series 
"  of  years,  when  the  highest  political  ferment  ex- 
*'  isted  ;  all  these  are  brought  together  as  a  regu- 
"  lar  plan,  a  continued  system  of  inconsistency, 
*'  discord,  and  faction." 

It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  how  a  gentleman 
possessed  of  character,  and  having  any  regard  to  his 
character,  could  have  ever  committed  himself  by 
such  an  extravagant  declaration,  not   only  without 


Address  to  the  Jnitcr,  bV. 


31 


'•..• 


mo- 


proof,  but  utterly  incapuljlc  of  proof,  as  I  liopc  to 
make  appear  as  clear  as  the  nooiulay  sun. 

The  whole  amount  of  the  extracts  which  I  have 
given  from  *^  the  violcnccH  of  nnuspapcr  J)(ir(iii'r(iphsy* 
the  '•''  cbullitiuns  of  declaimcni^'' — from  ''^  ififlanuiidto- 
ri/''^  ^'' spfcchcs^  sermons^  and g'dzcttes^  for  a  series  of 
years^"*  docs  not  exceed  thhti/'three  priifcs^  at  a  most 
liberal  allowance.  These  pages  would  at  the  utmost 
fill  aljoiit  sixteen  columns  of  one  of  our  lurt^r  news- 
papers.    And  yet,  sir,  you  come  forward  in  the  face 
of  the  nation,  and  assert,  without  any  qualification 
or   reservation,  that  I  have  extracted  "  evenj  thinjj^ 
iJiflammatorij   that   can   be   found   among  insulated 
speeches,    sermons,    and    gazettes,  for   a  series  of 
years  !"    Into  what  a  tissue  of  errors  does  party  pas- 
sion guide  its  votaries  ! 

Twenty  volumes,  each  as  large  as  the  Olive 
Branch,  would  be  inadequate  to  contain  "  all  the  vio- 
lences of  neivspaper  paragraphs''''  which  appeared 
from  1805  till  1814,  against  the  measures  of  the  ad- 
ministration. I  could  name  a  single  writer,  (but  I 
do  not  choose  to  hurt  his  feelings,)  who  published  of 
that  description  five  times  as  nuuh  in  one  year,  as  the 
whole  I  have  selected — and  I  could  also  point  out  par- 
ticular gazettes,  published  in  your  town,  which  con- 
tained as  much  within  one  month.  Further:  I  ha\  e  now 
in  my  possession  inflammatory  sermons  preached  to 
large  and  respectalUe  congregations,  and  published  at 
their  particular  request,  of  which  a  single  one  con- 
tains a  third  part  as  much  of  the  ^^  volence''''  and 
'-'•  ebullitions  of  dcclaimers*''  as  I  have  collected  toge- 
ther in  the  book  which  you  have  so  freely  and  un- 
(iualifiedly  devoted  to  reprobation.     On  tlie  point 


'it 


»i.i 


I 


32 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


n  I 


of  ^  ALL  the  violence^*  1  shall  say  no  more.   I  trust 
the  question  is  put  to  rest  for  ever. 

The  charges  alleged  in  the  Olive  Branch  against 
the  leaders  of  the  federalists  are  not  so  numerous  as 
those  against  the  democrats.  There  are  three  pro- 
minent ones,  which,  alone,  I  shall  notice  here,  pass- 
ing over  the  others,  as  I  have  done  so  many  of  those 
against  their  adversaries. 

The  first  is,  that  they  urged  the  government  in 
1805  and  1806,  to  pursue  such  measures  as  might 
be  necessary  and  proper  to  oblige  Great  Britain  to 
cease  her  depredations  on  the  commerce  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  with  a  solemn  pledge  of  support,  whatever 
might  be  the  event. 

The  second,  that  they  approved  in  the  most  un- 
qualified manner,  o^the  Erskine  arrangement,  before 
it  was  rejected  by  Great  Britain — and  that  after  its 
rejection,  they  most  violently  censured  the  govern- 
ment for  entering  into  it. 

And  the  third,  and  most  grievous,  that  the  ten- 
dency of  a  large  portion  of  their  proceedings — their 
newspaper  essays — their  resolves — and  of  no  small 
number  of  their  political  sermons,  was  to  dissolve 
the  Union. 

The  question  at  issue  between  you  and  me  is,  are 
those  charges  well  founded  ?  If  not,  then  have  I  been 
a  gi'oss  libeller,  and  richl)'^  deserve  the  caustic  se- 
verity you  have  bestowe.l  on  my  work,  which,  in 
that  case  would  deserve  the  appellation  of  a  *'  Torch 
of  Ah'cto^''  by  which  you  have  designated  it.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  the  case  is  made  out,  then  the  censure 
recoils  on  yourself  as  a  false  accuser.  I  shall  at- 
tempt the  proof  of  my  allegations,  and  be  very  brief 
in  my  citations. 


I   3j   5 


fi." 


'Extract  from  the  Memorial  of  the  Nexv  York  Mer- 
chants^ dated  Dec.  28,  1805. 

"  Your  memorialits  conclude  with  remark inj^ 
"  that  they  deem  the  present  situation  of  public 
"  affairs  to  be  peculiarly  critical  and  perilous — 
"  and  such  as  requires  all  the  prudence,  the  wis- 
dom, and  the  energy  of  the  government,  .s?//?- 
ported  by  the  co-operalion  of  all  good  citizens. 
By  mutual  exertions,  under  the  benign  influ- 
"  ence  of  Providence  upon  this  hitherto  favoured 
"  nation,  we  hope  the  clouds  which  threaten  to  ob- 
"  scure  its  prosperity  may  be  dispelled.  And  ive 
^^  pledge  our  united  support  in  favour  of  all  the 
"*'  measures  adopted  to  vindicate  and  secure  the  just 
.  ^^  rights  of  our  count ry.^^ 

Extract  from  the  Memorial  of  the  Philadelphia  Mer- 
chants^ December.,  180J. 

"  In  the  principles  they  have  here  submitted  to 
"  your  consideration,  they  feel  all  the  confidence 
**  of  justice  and  the  tenacity  of  truth.  To  surren- 
"  dcr  them,  they  conceive  would  derogate  from 
**  the  national  character  and  independence  of  the 
**  United  States.  From  the  justice  of  govern- 
"  ment,  they  hope  for  their  avowal — frotn  thespi- 
•*  rit  of  government.,  they  hope  for  their  defence-^* 
"  and  from  the  blessing  of  Heaven  they  hope  for 
^*  their  establishment. 

**  To  preserve  peace  with  all  "nations,  is  admit* 
**  ted,  without  reserve,  to  be  both  the  interest  and 

3 


I  ^ 


y 


4  ' 


•  I 


54 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


"  policy  of  the  United  States  They  therefore 
"  presume  to  siic;gest,  that  every  measure,  not  in- 
^*  corifiistent  with  the  honour  of  the  nation,  by 
*'  which  the  great  objects  of  redress  and  security 
miy  be  obtained,  should  first  be  tried.  If  such 
measures  prove  ineffectual^  whatever  maij  he  the 
sacrifice  on  their part^  it  will  he  met  with  suh?nis- 


<( 


41 


U 


**  sion.^^ 


Extract  from  the  Memorial  of  the  Boston  Merchants^ 

February  20,  1806. 

"  In  all  events,  fully  relying  that  the  subject  of 
**  our  differences  with  Great  Britain  will  receive 
"  the  due  consideration  of  government ;  and  that 
*'  such  measures  will  in  consequence  be  promptly 
"  adopted,  as  will  tend  to  disembarrass  our  commerce 
" — 'assert  our  rights — and  support  the  dignity  of 
"  tJie  United  States^  your  memoralists  have  the 
*-'  honour  to  remain,"  &c. 


Extract  from  the  Memorial  of  the  Merchants  ofNeW' 

haven^  Feb.  7,  1806. 

"  With  these  impressions  of  the  necessity  of 
''  measures  for  defending  our  commercial  rights, 
*'  which  shall  be  firm,  but  temperate— and  bold, 
"  yet  marked  with  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  your 
*^  memorialists  cordially  unite  with  their  fellow 
"  citizens  of  other  commercial  towns,  in  expresoing 
"  their  sentiments  freely  to  the  legislative  and  ex- 
ecutive authorities  of  their  country,  with  assur' 
ances  of  their  aisposition  to  give  aid  and  support 


(4 


1  r 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


35 


•■'  to  every  measure  of  go'-oernment  calculated  to  ac 
"  complish  this  important  ohj<   ;f." 

Extract  from  the  Memorial  of  the  Merchants  of  Nciv- 
biiryport^  Dec.  1805. 

"  Having  sustained  these  losses  and  injuries  in 
the  prosecution  of  our  lawful  commerce,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  our  just  lights,  we  rely  with  con- 
fidence on  the  wisdom,  firmness,  and  justice  of 
our  government,  to  obtain  for  us  that  compen- 
sation, and  to  g'rant  us  that  protection^  which  a 
rej^ard  for  the  honour  of  our  country^  no  less 
than  the  rights  of  our  citizens^  must  dictate  and 


requz 


re 


?> 


';H;  I 


Extract  from  the  Metnoriai  of  the  Salem  Merchants, 

January  20,  1806. 

*'  Your  memorialists  wish  to  take  no  part  in  the 
"  contests  which  now  convulse  the  world  ;  but, 
"  acting  with  impartiality  towards  all  nations,  to 
"  reap  the  fruits  of  a  just  neutrality.  If,  however, 
"  conciliation  cannot  effect  the  purposes  of  jus- 
**  tice,  and  an  appeal  to  arms  be  the  last  and  ne- 
"  cessary  protection  of  honour.^  they  feel  no  dispo- 
*'  sition  to  decline  the  common  da7iger,  or  shrink 
^^from  the  common  contribution. 

"  Relying  on  the  wisdom  and  firmness  of  the 
"  general  government  in  this  behalf,  they  feel  no 
"  hesitation  to  pledge  their  lives  and  properties 
"  in  support  of  the  measures  rvhich  may  be  adopt- 
"  ed  to  vindicate  the  public  rights  and  redress  the 
,*''•  public  wrongs.''^  ' 


it  !■ 


H 


% 


Hi 


i' 


I 


36 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


The  pacific  measures  adopted  by  the  American 
government  to  "  vindicate  the  public  rights,  and  re- 
dress the  public  wrongs,"  were,  restrictions  of  the 
lucrative  trade  which  the  aggressors  carried  on  with 
Hs — embargo — and  non  intercourse. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  state  how  far  the 
^^  pledge  of  Iroes  and  properties^'*  was  redeemed  by  the 
support  of  all  or  ;iny  of  those  measures.  I  draw  a 
veil  over  the  subject. 

The  next  accusation  against  the  ultra  leaders  of 
the  federal  party  was  the  warm  and  unequivocal 
approbation  they  bestowed  on  the  Erskine  arrange- 
ment previous  to  its  rejection  by  the  British  govern- 
ment, and  the  equally  unequivocal  reprobation  of 
it  and  the  administration  afterwards. 

Before  the  rejection, 

"  We  owe  it  to  Mr.  Madison  and  his  cabinet, 
'*  to  say,  and  we  do  it  with  pride  and  pleasure, 
**  that  they  have  come  forward  with  a  degree  of 
"  promptitude  and  manliness,  which  reflects  much 
*'  honour  on  them  and  the  country.  Mr.  Madison 
**  has  now  done  what  Mr.  fefferson  was  requested 
"  to  do  in  the  note  appended  to  the  treaty  returned 
**  by  him.  Mr.  Madison  is  now  efl^ectually  resist- 
"  ting  the  French  decrees  by  a  total  non  inter- 
"  course  with  that  country :  and  this  country  will 
"thank  him  for  it  to  the  latest  generation." — 
United  States  Gazette,  April  24,  1809. 

"  The  candour,  liberality,  and  sincerity  display- 
"  ed  in  those  documents,  are  alike  honourable  to 
"  the  two  governments." — Poulson's  American 
Daily  Advertiser,  April  22,  1809.  , 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


'!»•« 


Extract  from  the  Speech  of  the  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  the  Legislature  of  that  State. 
*^  \V"e  have  good  reason  to  indulge  the  hope 
"  of  realizing  these  views,  [arising  from  a  revival 
*'  of  commerce]  from  the  prompt  and  amicable 
"disposition  with  which  it  is  understood  the  pre- 
"  sent  federal  administration  met  the  conciliatory 
**  overtures  of  Great  Britain — a  disposition  xu/iich 
"  is  entitled  to^  and  xvill  certainly  receive^  the  hearty 
"  approbation  of  every  one  xvho  sincerely  loves  the 
'•'•  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  nation.^^ 

"  Well  may  the  merchants  of  Alexandria  rejoice 
"  at  Mr.  Madison's  return  to  the  good  old  prin- 
"  ciples  of  federalism.  Let  the  crazy  professors 
"  of  Jeffersonism  give  themselves  up  to  weeping, 
*'  and  wailing,  and  all  the  afflicting  stings  of  jeal- 
"  ousy  and  mortification.  The  federalists  will  pay 
"  homage  to  Mr.  Madison,  while  he  continues  to 
"  pursue  the  course  he  lias  taken." — Federal  Re- 
publican. 


"  Scarcely  was  Mr.  Madison  seated  in  the  chair 
'•'"of  state,  when,  contrary  to  all  our  expectations, 
"  but  agreeably  to  our  wishes,  he  gave  the  lie  to- 
*'  alibis  electioneering  advocates ;  abandoned prac- 
**  tically  and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  the  policy  and. 
"  course  of  the  sage ;  and  concluded  with  Mr.  Er- 
"  skine  an  agreement,  which,  knocking  ojfthe  igno^ 
^^  minions  hand-cuffs  from  our  hands .^  unmooring 
"  our  ships,  rejoicing  our  hearts^  and  elevating  our 
"  hopes,  drew  from  the  union,  (the  jacobins  except-- 
"  edy)  an  unfeigned  burst  of  heart  cheering  applause.. 

3  * 


m 


38 


i  t  ■". 


k 


Address  to  the  Wrher  of 

"  Never  statesman  did  an  act  more  popular  or  more 
''  conducive  to  the  true  and  permanent  interest  of 
''  his  Country.'''' — Philadelphia  Gazette,  June  20, 
1809. 

"  Look  at  the  files  of  this  paper  for  a  twelve 
"  month.  You  will  find  it  insisted  upon,  that 
*'  Great  Britain  wished  for  an  adjustment  of  dif- 
'•''fcrences,  and  would  come  to  an  accommodation 
"  the  moment  we  gave  her  a  chance  to  do  so.  Mr. 
•"'  Erskine  very  promptly  begins  by  stating,  on 
*'  our  government's  placing  England  on  a  footing 
"  with  France,  England  will  make  reparation — 
"just  precisely  what  I  have  said  a  hundred  times 
"  over  in  thiL  paper,  she  would  gladly  do."" — New 
York  Evening  Post,  April  26,  1809. 

Per  Contra^ — after  the  rejection, 

"  For  our  part  we  have  had  but  one  opinion 
'"'  from  the  commencement  of  this  mysterious  af- 
•■'  fair ;  and  we  have  made  bold  to  express  it.  It 
**  is,  that  Mr.  Erskine  acted  contrary  to  his  in- 
•■'  structions^  and  that  Mr.  Secretary  Smith  knew 
*•'  what  these  instructions  were."*^ — United  States 
Gazette,  Oct.  18,  1809. 


it 


"  In  short,  Mr.  Erskine  surrendered  every  thing', 
and  got  nothing  in  return. — Ibid. 


"  The  people  have  been  flagrantly  deceived,  and 
"  grossly  abused.  The  matter  rests  between  Mr. 
"  Erskine  and  our  administration.  Wherever  the 
"  blame  shall  fjill,  it  is  for  the  people  to  apply  or 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


39 


,,  I 


**  originate  a  remedy." — Federal  Republican,  July 
31,  1809. 

"  What  was  a  few  days  ago  but  a  doubtful 

*  point,  is  now  settled  by  the  publication  of  Mr. 
'  Erskine's  instructions.  Sufficient  information 
^  has  been  received,  to  convince  all  candid  per- 

*  sons,  that  the  rancour  with  which  the  English 

*  cabinet  has  been  pursued,  was  undeserved.  We 

*  do  not  entertain  a  doubt,  when  all  the  circum- 
'  stances  shall  have  been  disclosed,  that  it  will  ap- 
'  pear  that  Secretary  Smith  actually  saw  Erskine's 

*  Instructions ;  and  that  the  arrangement  was  made, 
'  merely  as  an  experiment.  We  feel  confident  that 
'  the  thing  will  be  put  upon  this  footing.  If  then 
*the  United  States  will  be  ultimately  injured  by 

*  the  act,  they  will  judge  where  the  blame  lies." 
—Federal  Republican,  July  27,  1809. 

"  By  letters  from  well-informed  men  in  Eng- 
•■*  land,  we  are  assured  that  the  conduct  of  Mr. 
"  Erskine  is  condemned  by  all  parties  in  that 
"  country  ;  that  the  temper  of  the  public  is  far  be- 
"  yond  that  of  the  ministry.  A  very  general  opin- 
"  ion  prevails  there,  that  it  will  be  very  difficult 
"  to  keep  any  terms  with  this  country ;  that  we 
"  are  governed  by  men  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
"  France,  who  are  determined  to  insist  on  terms 
"  from  England  which  can  never  be  obtained." — 
Boston  Palladium,  August  11,  1809. 

It  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation,  to  add  any 
thing  further  to  prove  this  point. 


iH- 


40 


Aclilrcss  to  the  Writer  of 


The  third  grand  item  of  accusation,  is,  that  tlie 
tendency  of  the  writings  and  proceedings  of  the 
ultra  leaders  of  the  federal  party  was  to  dissolve  the 
Union.  I  say  distinctly  ''  the  tenc/eticyy  Of  their 
views  or  intentions  I  pretend  not  to  judge. 

To  the  belief  of  this  tendency,  whether  right  or 
wrong,  the  publication  of  the  Olive  Branch  was 
wholly  owing.  Nothing  but  the  apprehension  of  such 
a  result  could  have  led  me  to  the  undertaking.  How 
far  this  apprehension  was  just,  I  leave  the  world  to 
decide. 


V    ' 


"  As  Mr.  Madison  has  declared  war ^  let  Mr.  Ma- 
*'  dison  carry  it  on.'''' — Discourse  of  the  Rev.  J.  S. 
J.  Gardiner,  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  de- 
livered July  23,  1812,  page  17. 

"  The  union  has  been  long  since  virtually  dissolve 
*'  ed:  and  it  is  full  time  that  this  part  of  the  dis- 
"  united  States  should  take  care  of  itself  ^'-^Idcin^ 
page  19. 


"  One  hope  only  remains,  that  this  last  stroke 
*'  of  perfidy  may  open  the  eyes  of  the  besotted 
"  people  ;  that  they  may  awake  like  a  giant  from  his 
"  slumbers,  and  xvreak  their  vengeance  on  their  be- 
"  trayers^  by  driving  them  from  their  stations,  and 
"  placing  at  the  helm  more  skilful  and  faithful 
"  hands." — Discourse  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Da- 
vid Osgood,  D.  D.  pastor  of  the  church  at  Med- 
ford,  June  27,  1812,  page  17. 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


41 


vt 


If  at  the  present  moment^  no  sijmptoins  of  croil 
**  7var  appear^  they  certainlij  ivill  soon  ;  unless  the 
**  courage  of  the  war  party  should  fail  them?'' — 
Idem,  page  14. 

*'  A  civil  war  becomes  as  ct.cain  as  the  events 
^'*  that  happen  according  to  the  known  laws  and 
**  established  course  of  nature,'*'' — Idem,  page  15. 

"  The  Israelites  were  weary  of  yielding  the 
"  fruits  of  their  labour  to  pamper  their  tyrants. 
"  They  left  their  political  woes.  They  separated. 
"  Where  is  our  Moses  ?  Where  is  the  rod  of  his 
"  miracles  ?  Where  is  our  Aaron  ?  Alas  I  no  voice 
^^  from  the  burning  bush  has  directed  them  here^ — 
Discourse  deliv^ered  by  the  Rev.  Elisha  Parish, 
D.  D.  at  Byfield,  April  7,  1814,  page  18. 


,.« 


I    1 


"  Alas  !  we  have  no  Moses  to  stretch  his  rod 
*'  over  the  sea  !  No  Lebanon ,,  nor  Carmel^  nor  Zion 
"  invites  us  across  the  deep  /" — Idem,  page  14. 


"  Has  not  New  England  as  much  to  apprehend 
"  as  the  sons  of  Jacob  had  ?  But  no  child  has  been 
^^  taken  from  the  river  to  lead  us  through  the  sea!'''' 
—Idem,  page  20. 

"  God  will  bring  good  from  every  evil.  The 
^^  furnaces  of  Egypt  lighted  Israel  to  the  land  of 
^^  Canaan.^'' — Idem,  page  22. 

"  Let  every  man  who  sanctions  this  war  by  his 
"  suffrage  or  his  influence,  remember,  that  he  is 
"  labouring  to  cover  himself  and  his  country  with 


!<■•* 


\   * 


1        ; 


k 


42 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


i 


l!. 


.1,  ,     I 


!k 


\i 


"  blood.     T/ie  blood  of  the  slain  will  cry  from  the 
''^ ground  against  him.'''' — Idem,  page  28. 

"  How  will  the  supporters  of  this  anti-cliristian 
*'  warfare  endure  their  sentence ;  endure  their  own 
*'  reflections  ;  endure  the  fire  that  for  ever  hums  ; 
"  the  worm  which  never  dies  ;  the  hosannahs  of  He  a- 
"  ven ;  while  the  smoke  of  their  torments  ascends 
''^  for  ever  and  ever  T"* — Idem,  page  24.     v      . 

*'  Either  the  southern  states  must  drag  us  fur- 
"  ther  into  the  roar — or  we  must  drag  them  out  of 
**  it — or  the  chain  will  break,'''* — Boston  Centinel, 
Jan.  13,  1813.  .  , 

"  The  Union  is  dissolved  practically?'' — Idem, 
Sept.  10,  1814. 

"  Throwing  off  all  connexion  with  this  wasteful 
**  xuar — making  peace  with  the  enemy — and  open- 
**  ing  once  more  our  commerce,  would  be  a  wise 
^^  and  manly  coz/r^e."— 'Idem,  Dec.  17,  1814. 

"  The  once  venerable  constitution  has  expired 
"  by  dissolution  in  the  hands  of  those  wicked  men 
"  who  xvere  sworn  to  protect  it.  Its  spirit,  with 
"  the  precious  souls  of  its  first  founders,  has  fled 
*'  for  ever.  Its  remains,  with  theirs,  rest  in  the 
'*  silent  tomb.  At  your  hands  therefore  we  detnand 
"  deliverance.  New  England  is  unanimous.  And 
"  we  announce  our  irrevocable  decree,  that  the  ty 
"  rannical  oppression  of  those  who  at  present  usurp 
^^  the  powers  of  the  constitution,  'is  beyond  endur- 
*''- ance.  And  xve  will  resist  it.'*'' — Address  to  the 
Hartford  Convention,  Bost.  Cent.  Dec.  28,  1814, 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States, 


rom  the 


hrlstlan 
eir  own 
burns  ; 
of  flea" 
ascends 


us  fur- 
1  out  of 
entincl, 


-Idem, 


msteful 
d  open- 
a  wise 
4. 


xptred 

?d  men 

,  with 

as  fled 

in  the 

emand 

And 

he  tt/" 

usurp 

ndur- 

to  the 

1814. 


43 


Extract  from  a  Memorial  of  the  citizens  of  Ncwbu- 
ryport,  January  31,1814,  addressed  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts. 

*'  We  remember  the  resistance  of  our  fathers  to 
*'  oppressions  which  dwindle  into  insignificance, 
"  when  compared  with  those  we  are  called  upon 
**  to  endure.  The  rights  which  we  have  received 
"  from  God,  we  will  never  yield  to  man.  We  call 
"  upon  our  state  legislature  to  protect  us  in  the  en- 
**joyment  of  those  privileges,  to  assert  which  our 
**  fathers  died  ;  and  to  defend  which  we  profess 
"  ourselves  ready  to  resist  unto  blood.  We  pray 
*'  your  honourable  body  to  adopt  measures  im- 
"  mediately  to  secure  to  us,  especially,  our  un« 
*'  doubted  right  to  trade  within  our  own  state. 

"  We  are  ourselves  ready  to  aid  you  in  secur- 
"  ing  it  to  us,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  '-'•  peace- 
"  ablij  if  we  car>.  forcibly  if  we  must.''''  And  xve 
^^ pledg-e  to  you  the  sacrifice  of  our  lives  and pro- 
^*'  pcrty  in  support  of  whatever  measures  the  digni- 
*'  ty  and  liberties  of  this  free,  sovereign,  and  in- 
"  dependent  state  may  seem  to  your  wisdom  to 
*'  demand." 

Extract  from  a  memorial  of  the  Citizens  of  Hadley 
to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts. 

"  Resolved,  that  in  our  opinion,  a  perseverance 
"  in  that  deadly  hostility  to  commerce,  which,  we 
**  believe,  derives  its  origin  and  its  vigour  from 
"  a  deep-rooted  jealousy  of  the  eastern  states,  will 
"  inevitably  tend  to  a  dissolution  of  the  union.  And 
"  though  we  most   sincerely  deprecate   such  an 


;  1 


44 


Address  to  the  Writer^  h^c. 


f 


1    i 


•I 


I!  ♦! 


"  event,  yet  we  cannot  suppress  our  fears,  that 
"  the  time  is  at  hand,  when  a  separation  of  these 
'*  states  will  be  enforced  bij  the  most  irresistible  of 
**  all  motives — self  preservation.'*'' 


I  regret  heing  driven  by  the  libel  you  have  pub- 
lished against  me  and  my  book,  to  l)ring  forward 
these  topics,  which  were  bettei  consigned  to  oblivion 
The  extreme  violence  of  your  attacks,  and  the  im- 
perious duty  of  self-defence,  will,  1  doubt  not,  suf- 
ficiently plead  my  apology  with  every  man  possess- 
ed of  common  candour. 

The  remainder  of  your  accusations  shall  be  exa- 
mined and  refuted  in  the  next  address  of 

The  Writer  of  the  Olive  Branch, 

Philadelphia^  Dec.  16,  1820. 


[    4i-     J 


I.' 


KO.  IV. 


SIRf 

Your  next  allegation,  offered,  it  is  true,  mciely 
by  implication,  is  that  I  wrote  under  ''  the  paltnj  ini' 
jmlse  of  part  If  or  pirumanj  thrifty 

On  the  subject  of  '"''  the  paltry  impulse  of  party," 
I  presume  No.  2.  contains  abundant  refutation. — 
No  man,  under  that  impulse,  would  have  dared  to 
use  the  strong  language  of  condemnation,  A\hieh  is 
there  exhibited  against  his  own  ])arty.  To  these 
proofs  I  shall  make  no  addition,  presuming  lliat  those 
Avho  pretend  they  are  insufficient,  would  not  give 
credence,  "  though  one  were  to  rise  from  the  dead." 

The  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  tlio  words 
^*  ^he  paltnj  i?upulse  of  pecunianj  thrift^''  is,  I  pre- 
sume, that  the  hope  of  making  mone}',  was  among 
the  motives  for  writing  the  Olive  Branch.  Were 
this  true,  the  procedure  would  not  have  been  in  any 
wise  crimin:il.  Few  men  who  write  in  tliis  or  any 
other  country,  scruple  to  sell  their  works ;  and  if 
there  be  any  chance  of  their  having  such  a  circula-  ' 
tion  as  is  likely  to  render  them  profitable,  they  will 
find  purchasers. 

But  the  charge  is,  like  the  others,  wholly  false,  and 
destitute  of  the  shadow  of  foundation.     I  wrote  the 
Olive  Branch  w  ithout  the  most  distant  idea  of  profit  ' 
— indeed  with  every  prospect  of  loss  ;  as  \  cry  few,  ' 
indeed  scarcely  any,  political  publication'^   in  this 

4. 


:[!  i 


h 


i: 


^1  J: 


r. 


■4 


«'  < 


111 


1 

1  t 


46 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


country  have  ever  indemnified  the  publishers  for 
their  expenses.  The  success  of  the  O.  B.  was  almost 
unprecedented,  and  went  far  beyond  all  rational  cal- 
culation. 

On  the  subject  of  '-'•  pecimiary  thrift!^''  I  have  to 
offer  a  few  strong  facts  ;  and  facts  are  "  stubborn 
things,"  not  to  be  disproved  by  mere  insinuations  or 
assertions,  however  boldlv  hazarded. 

The  Olive  Branch,  at  an  early  period,  had  become 
profitable.     It  was  then  no  longer  a  mere  experi- 
ment, as  it  v/as  in  general  demand   in  every  part 
of  the  union.     It  was  admitted  by  candid  men  of 
both  parties,  that  its  circulation  was  happily  allaying 
the  violent  spirit  of  party,  which  menaced  the  nation 
with  the  most  awful  consequences.     Then  was  the 
time,  if  I  had  been  actuated  by  the  ''  paltry  impulse 
of  pecuniary  thrift^'^  to  have  completely  gratified  that 
spirit.    I  could,  without  the  least  impropriety,  have 
monopolized  the  supply  of  the  whole  country  in  my 
own  hands.    Perhaps  I  might  without  vanity  assert, 
that  few  men  would  have  done  otherwise.  Your  un- 
fair and  uncandid  insinuation  w^ould  justify  ine  in 
the  declaration.      But  what  was  the   fact  ?  In  or- 
der to  increase  the  beneficial  results,  which  I  had 
reason  to  expect  from  its  circulation,  I  offered  the 
privilege  of  re-printing  it  gratis  to  booksellers  in 
Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  Boston,  Newhaven,  Middle- 
bmy,  Richmond,  Winchester,  Raleigh,  and  Charles- 
ton.    The  offer  was  accepted  in  only  three  places  ; 
in  Boston,  by  Andrew  Dunlap,and  Rowe  and  Hoop- 
er; in  Middlebury,  by  William  Slade;  and  in  Win- 
chester, by  J.  Foster.    The  three  editions  amounted 
to  about  4500  copies,  for  which  I  never  asked,  expect- 


Letters  on  the  Eaatern  States. 


47 


*»*• 


cd,  nor  received  a  single  cent.  I  think  the  annals  of 
politics  and  literature,  aiFord  few  parallel  cases.  Men 
in  England,  France,  and  Germany,  incomparably- 
more  wealthy  and  independent  than  I  was,  have,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  sold  their  writings,  even  when 
their  fate  was  wholly  uncertain.  Whereas,  at  the 
time  when  I  tendered  the  gratuitous  permission  to 
publish  the  Olive  Branch,  in  so  many  different  parts 
of  the  union,  it  had  passed  the  ordeal  of  public  criti- 
cism ;  and  the  success  of  those  who  might  publish  it 
was  absolutely  certain. 

I  annex  an  irrefutable  document  on  this  point. 
Similar  ones  could  be  had  from  Messrs.  Slade  and 
Foster,  were  it  deemed  necessary-. 

"  Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  Andrew 
*'  Dunlap,  and  Rowe  and  Hooper,  of  the  town  of 
"  Boston,  by  permission  of  Mathew  Carey  of  Phil- 
"  adelphia,  printed  in  the  year  1815,  the  third  edi- 
*'  tion  of  the  Olive  Branch,  consisting"  of  Jiftecn 
^-^  hundred  copies  f^-  and  that  the  author  gave  the 
"  privilege  of  printing  it  gratuitously — never  hav- 
'*  ing  required  or  received  to  the  amount  of  a  sin- 
"  gle  dollar  for  the  copy  right;  the  only  condition 
"  annexed  to  the  permission  was,  that  the  pub- 
"  Ushers  should  bestow  ten  per  cent,  of  the  edition 
"  to  public  libraries.,  and  to  persons  unable  to  pur- 
"  chase  copies  of  the  xvork.'''' 

THOMAS  ROWE, 
^"         of  the  late  firm  of  Row e  and  Hooper. 

■'■■'.  >.  Boston,  Jan.  4,  1821. 


1 


•  I  formcily  believed,  and  stated,  tliat  this  edition  was  only  1250 
copies.    I  fitul  I  was  in  error,  as  appears  by  the  above  testimony. 


l! 


Ml 

I... 


P""!! 


48 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


The  next  point  I  shall  notice  is  contained  in  these 
words — *'  an  octavo  volume,  compiled  by  an  Irish 
Bookseller  in  Philadelphia,  has,  if  the  title  may  be 
believed,  gone  through  a  dozen  editions .'*'*  Here  is 
an  error  deserving  of  animadversion,  merely  as  it 
affords  a  proof  of  the  very  loose  and  careless  nature 
of  your  assertions,  and  how  little  concern  you  take 
to  make  them  square  with  the  truth.  There  is  no 
copy  of  the  work  professing  to  be  the  txvelfth  edi- 
tion. Its  extent  was  only  ten  editions  j  of  which 
seven  were  published  in  thirteen  months — the  first 
on  the  8th  of  Nov.  1814,  and  the  seventh,  Dec.  15, 
1815.     The  tenth  appeared  in  June,  1818. 

There  are  various  modes  of  defamation  and  caU 
umny.  It  is  sometimes  explicitly  and  unqualifiedly 
promulgated — at  others  it  is  indirectly  hinted.  The 
words — '-'  If  the  title  page  may  be  believed^^'^SLre  in- 
tended to  convey  the  idea  that  "  the  title  page^"*  car- 
ries the  lie  stamped  on  its  forehead ;  and  that  the 
Tiumber  of  editions  was  not  so  great  as  has  been  as- 
serted. 

Independent  of  a  reply  to  your  unfounded  accu- 
sation, 1  have  an  additional  reason  for  noticing  this 
sentence.  In  order  to  destroy  the  influence  of  the 
Olive  Branch,  and  to  bring  discredit  on  its  author, 
Vrhen  it  was  in  the  highest  demand,  a  violent  party 
newsprinter  in  New  York,  fabricated  a  pretty  story, 
to  which  his  paper  gave  extensiv'e  currency.  He 
pretended  that  I  had  a  variety  of  title  pages,  purport- 
ing to  belong  to  several  editions  of  the  work,  but 
in  reality  prefixed  to  one  and  the  same  edition. 

The  story  was  humorously  told,  and  by  way  of 
illustration,  the  editor  introduced  another,  of  a  de- 


Letters  on  the  Lantern  States. 


49 


cayed  gentleman,  who,  having,  hut  two  shirts,  had 
them  marked  No.  19  and  20,  in  order  to  imprests 
his  friends  with  an  opinion  that  his  stock  of  linen 
was  immensely  great.  On  the  disingenuousness 
of  this  conduct,  I  make  no  comment.  On  such  a 
point,  among  honourable  men,  there  can  be  but  one 
opinion. 


■■A\ 


"  Happening  to  step  into  a  bookseller's  store  this 
"  morning,  the  sight  of  an  octavo  volume,  hand* 
"  somely  bound  in  morocco,  caught  my  eye,  t/ie 
''''seventh  edition^  if  I remeiJiber  right.    This  book 
'^'  sells  well,  said  I.    It  has  reached  more  editions 
"  in  a  short  period  from  its  first  appearance,  than 
"  almost  any  other  book  in  this  country  ever  did 
"  — a  fact  of  which  I  found  myself  solemnly  assur- 
"ed  in  the  nn  'ace. —  This  Carey  ^says  the  bookseller^ 
"  is  a  queer   t.-o-v,  or  mad.     He  sent  to  us  here  a 
"  parcel  of  this  book,  marked  the  sixth  edition,  I 
'*  think ;  and  directly  on  the  back  of  it,  before  xve 
"  had  sold  a  single  copy.,  he  wrote  and  said,  that 
"  the  demand  was  so  great  and  pressing,  that  we 
"  must  return  all  on  hand  by  the  mail  stage ;  and 
"  immediately  after  sent  us  another  parcel  marked 
"  the  seventh.     I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of 
**  him. — Carey  has  long  been  an  author  by  pro- 
"  fession ;  and  heimderstands  the  tricks  of  the  trade. 
'*  He  knows  that  nothing  helps  off  a  book  so  much 
"  as   the  appearance  of  num<jrous  editions ;  and 
"  therefore  I  believe  he  keeps  a  set  of  title  pages' 
"  to  prefix  at  pleasure;  just  as  the  owner  of  txvo 
"  solicary  shirts^  numbers  them  19  and  20." — New- 
York  Evening  Post. 

4  * 


,  I  5 


'!< 


'U'^ 


50 


Aihlress  to  tlie  Writer  of 


Tlie  story  was  too  good,  and  flattered  too  many- 
party  prejudices,  to  die  very  soon.  Accordingly  it 
was  extensively  circulated,  with  strong  asseverations 
of  its  truth ;  and  it  was,  as  is  usual,  believed  by  those 
who  wished  it  true.  About  a  year  since,  a  southern 
poet  embodied  it  into  the  preface  of  one  of  his  works, 
and,  availing  himself  of  the  I'lcentia  poetica^  adorned 
the  tale  with  some  further  embellishments. 


ift    ,: 


"  I  have  waited  in  almost  feverish  anxiety  for 
*'  a  decent  excuse  to  publish  a  second  edition : — 
"  by  a  second,  I  do  not  mean  such  second  editions 
"as  we  sometimes  see,  struck  off  simultaneously 
"with  the  first — corresponding  with  it  in  every 
"  particular,  (even  to  the  table  of  errata) — but  I 
*'  mean  a  second  edition^ — revised — corrected — 
"  and  following  the  first. 

*'  There  is  a  ridiculous  story  on  this  subject 
•''^  which  I  must  tell — not  out  of  malice  to  any  hu- 
**  man  being— -^z/if  because  I  have  some  reason  to 
"  believe  it!  One  of  our  greatest  booksellers,  and, 
•*  by  the  by,  no  ordinary  writer,  having  published 
''  a  book,  which — some  how  or  other — reached  the 
"  tenth  or  twentieth  edition — in  hisfirst  consignment 
"  sent  the  fourth  edition.  The  books  were  scarce- 
"ly  housed,  when  the  first  edition  arrived.  The 
**  wrong  bundle,  it  appears,  was  shipped  first." 
Battle  of  Niagara^  by  John  Neal^  preface^  second' 
editionypp.  7  and  S,. 

I  wrote  to  Mr.  Neal  on  the  subject  of  this  flagrant 
falsehood — but  he  had  not  the  candour  to  make  any 
apology,  ncr  even  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  my 
letter. 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  States. 


51 


«M« 


It  may,  perhaps,  appear  that  this  affair  is  too  un- 
important to  deserve  serious  notice.  This  is  an 
error.  The  story,  divested  of  its  drollery,  forms  an 
accusation,  that  I  was  guilty  of  a  gross  literary 
fraud,  disgraceful  and  dishonourable  in  a  high  de- 
gree— a  fraud  which  I  regard  with  the  utmost  scorn. 
And  surely  it  can  never  be  improper  or  unnecessa- 
ry to  repel  slander  or  calumny.. 

The  editions  of  the  Olive  Branch  are  fortunately 
so  entirely  different  from  each  other,  that  a  very 
cursory  glance  is  sufficient  to  establish  the  utter 
destitution  of  truth  in  the  insinuation.  There  ha!> 
probably  no  instance  ever  before  occurred,  of  such 
a  strong  and  btriking  difference  between  the  various 
editions  of  the  same  w^ork,  as  exists  in  this  ease. 
This  difference  has  arisen  from  my  having  made 
very  large  additions  to,  and  alterations  in,  every  suc- 
cessive edition,  as  new  light  broke  in  on  me.  In 
proof  of  this  fact,  it  is  sufficient  to  state,  that  the  first 
contained  only  252  pages  duodecimo^  of  large,  and 
the  tenth  50G  pages,  actaiw^  of  small^  print. 

The  following  statement,  signed  by  four  respecta- 
ble gentlemen,  will  fully  establish  the  falsel\ood  of 
the  whole  of  these  Muncliausen  stories. 


"  The  subscribers  b-ave  examined  ten  copies  of 
*'  the  Olive  Branch,  submitted  to  them  by  the  au- 
"  thor,  and  hereby  certify,  that  there  is  such  a 
"■^  total  difference  in  the  arrangement  of  the  matter, 
"  the  size  of  the  pages  and  types,  and  more  par- 
"  ticularly  in  the  number  of  pages  contained  in 
*^  them,  as  to  convince  the  most  superficial  obser- 


l\ 


in. 


)  ■ 


22  Address  to  the  Writer  of 

"  ver  that  they  were  bona  fide  different  editions. 

JAMES  ABERCROMBIE,  D.  D. 
THOMAS  DOBSON, 
W.  W.  WOODWARD, 
ABRAHAM  SMALL. 

Philadelphia^  Jan.  2,  1821. 

fn  order  to  disparage  the  work,  you  hold  out  the 
idea  of  its  being  a  mere  "  compilation^'*  of  which  the 
leading  feature  is  "  the  duhiess  of  a  parcel  of  ex- 
tracts from  old  newspapers."  ;  V.-.  ,    -^  ^ 

This  insinuation  is  equally  correct  and  candid 
with  the  residue  of  your  criticisms.  The  work  is 
by  no  means  a  compilation.  It  is  a  review,  although 
a  very  desultory  one,  of  the  most  important  affairs 
of  the  country  for  a  number  of  years,  and  down  to 
the  close  of  the  late  war.  It  contains,  it  is  true,  very 
copious  extracts  from  public  documents  and  news- 
papers, new  and  old — but  a  very  large  proportion  of 
it  is  entirely  new. 

This  course  was  dictated  by  the  nature  of  the 
case,  and  by  imperious  necessity.  I  trod  on  deli- 
cate and  dangerous  ground.  The  work  was  in  di- 
rect hostility  with  the  feelings,  the  prejudices,  and 
in  some  measure  with  the  interests,  of  numierous  and 
respectable  portions  of  the  parties,  then  so  violently^ 
inflamed  against  each  other.  It  was  therefore  liable 
to  the  most  rigorous  scrutiny.  The  greatest  cir- 
cumspection was,  of  course,  necessary.  My  mere 
ipse  dixi.,  would  have  been  of  little  avail.  It  became 
incumbent  on  me  to  shut  the  door  in  the  face  o£ 
cavilling  and  disputation.  I  pursued  the  only  plan 
calculated  to  produce  this  effect.  Almost  every  im- 
portant fact  Stated,  or  opinion  advanced,  is  support- 


ditions. 
►.  D. 


1821, 

out  the 
lich  the 
of  ex- 
candid 
^ork  is 
though 
affairs 
•wn  to 
?,  very 
news- 
ion  of 

)f  the 
I  deli- 
in  di- 
5,  and 
s  and 
ently 
liable 
b  cir- 
mere 
came 
ce  o£ 
plan 
T  im- 
port- 


Letters  on  the  Easfeni  States.  53 

ed  not  merely  by  reference  to  authorities,  but  by 
quotations  from  the  authorities  themselves.  This 
plan  is  carried  to  an  extent  probably  unparalleled, 
and  which  nothing  could  justify,  but  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  case. 

The  last  insinuation  which  I  shall  notice  is,  that  I 
was  destitute  of  the  "  independence"  necessary  for 
such  a  delicate  office  as  I  undertook. 

To  disprove  this  fully,  in  addition  to  the  evidence 
I  have  already  given  in  pp  1  *^  o  28,  I  subjoin 
a  few  extracts  from  the  Ww..:,  v  ch,  I  trust,  wiiJ 
finally  settle  the  question. 

"  This  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  administration 
"  xvas  to  the  last  degree  culpable.  It  was  a  derc- 
"  liction  of  duty  that  exposed  our  citizens  to  ruin- 
*'  ous  consequences." — Olive  Branchy  XOth  edition^ 
p.  66* 

Whether  I  shall  escape  censure  for  the  excessive 
severity  of  the  following  strictiu-cs  on  the  conduct 
of  the  thirteenth  congress,  is  wholly  uncertain.  But, 
surely,  even  you,  sir,  will  acknowledge  that  they  are 
as  full  a  proof  of  that  "  independence'*''  which  you  re- 
gard as  an  indispensable  requisite  for  a  writer,  who 
decsants  on  passing  events,  as  could  well  be  offered : 
nothing  could  justify  or  even  palliate  this  stjle  of 
writing  but  the  extreme  excitement  created  by  the 
desperate  state  of  our  affairs.  .  .      -  ..  u    - 

"  In  the  present  tranquillized  state  of  the  public 
"  mind,  when  the  fears  and  solicitudes  excited  by 
"  the  late  alarming  state  of  affairs  have  subsided, 
**  it  will  be  difficult  for  the  reader  to  justify,  or 
'^  even  to  account  for,  the  'vvarmth  which  many 


M« 


ft 


i;.  r 


M 


!*' 


54 


Address  to  the  Writer  of 


"  parts  of  this  work  display.  It  is  therefore  hut 
•'justice  to  myself,  to  give  a  rapid  sketch  of  tlie 
*'  scenes  through  which  we  have  passed,  in  order 
**  to  account  for  the  excitement  of  my  mind,  so 
"  obvious  to  every  reader  in  the  perusal  of  some 
'*  of  my  chapters. 

"  The  government  had  been  nearly  reduced  to 
**  bankruptcy  It  had  been  unable  to  raise  money 
*'  to  discharge  the  most  imperious  engagements. 
*'  There  was  no  general  circulating  medium  in  the 
*''  country.  The  banks,  from  New- York  to  New- 
*'  Orleans,  inclusively,  had,  widi  perhaps  one  or 
*'  two  exceptions, suspended  the  payment  of  specie. 
*'  The  bank  notes  of  Philadelphia  and  New- York 
"were  depreciated  in  Boston  from  15  to  25  per 
"  cent,  below  par.  And  every  feature  in  our  po- 
*'  litical  affairs  wore  an  equally  awful  aspect. 
*'  Whether  the  causes  I  have  assigned  really  pro- 
*'  duced  this  state  of  things  or  not,  is  immaterial. 
*'  Be  the  cause  what  it  may,  the  fact  existed. 
"  Want  of  money  had  partially  suspended  the  re- 
**  cruiting  service.  And  the  pacification  of  Europe 
"had  quadrupled  the  disposable  force  of  our  en- 
*'  emy,  and  in  the  same  degree  increased  our  dan- 
*'  ger  and  the  necessity  for  energy  and  vigilance. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  congress  was  con- 
"  vened  on  the  19th  of  September,  nearly  two 
"  months  earlier  than  the  period  fixed  by  law,  in 
*'  order  to  make  provision  for  such  an  extraordi- 
*'  nary  emergency.  The  state  of  the  nation  was 
"  fully  detailed  to  them  in  various  executive  com- 
"  munications,  which  called,  imperiously  called, 
"  for  energy  and  decision. 

"  Rarely  has  a  legislative  bodv  had  more  im- 


Letters  on  the  Lantern  Slates. 


fore  hut 
h  of  the 
in  order 
[iiind,  so 
of  some 

luced  to 
e  money 
ements. 
n  in  the 
;o  New- 
one  or 
f  specie. 
vv-York 
►  25  per 
our  po- 
aspect. 
ly  pro- 
aterial. 
existed, 
the  re- 
Europe 
5ur  en- 
ir  dan- 
ilance. 
IS  con- 
y  two 
aw,  in 
aordi- 
n  was 
I  com- 
:alled, 

e  im- 


*'  portant  duties  to  fulfil,  or  a  more  glorious  op- 
"  portunity  of  signalizing  itself,  and  laying  claim 
"  to  the  public  gratitude.  Rarely  have  stronger 
"  motives  existed  to  arouse  every  spark  of  public 
"  spirit  or  patriotism  that  had  lain  dormant  in  tbe 
"  heart.  And  I  venture  to  assert,  there  hardly 
*'  ever  was  a  legislature  that  more  completely  dis- 
"  appointed  public  expectation — that  more  cgre- 
"  giously  failed  of  its  duty. 

"  The  imbecility^  the  follij^  the  vacillation^  the 
*'  want  of  system.^  of  energy^  and  of  decision^  dis^ 
"  played  by  the  majority — and  the  unyielding.^  stub- 
*''' born.,  violent.,  and  factious  opposition  of  the  mi' 
"  nority.,  to  all  the  measures  for  which  the  occasion 
*'■  so  loudly  called., — have  affixed  an  indelible  stain  on 
*-^  the  memory  of  the  thirteenth  Congress. — It  will 
"  be  long  remembered  with  emotions  neither  of 
''  gratitude  nor  respect.  Nowhere,  I  am  persuad- 
*'  ed,  in  the  annals  of  legislation,  is  there  to  be  found 
**  an  instance  of  precious  time  more  astonishingly 
**  wasted.  It  had  been  in  session  nearly  five  months 
"  when  the  news  of  peace  arrived — and  had  but 
"  three  week^  to  sit.  The  spring,  the  season  of 
"  hostility  and  depredation,  was  rapidly  approach- 
"  ing.  And  what  had  it  done  to  serve  or  save  the 
"  country  ?  What  provision  had  it  made  of  men  or 
"  money  ?  little  or  none.  Nearly  all  the  measures 
"  adapted  to  the  emergency  that  had  been  brought 
*'  forward  in  Congress,  had  been  defeated." — P.  23. 

"  The  majority.,  imbecile  and  feeble.,  endeavoured 
*•'•  to  shelter  themselves  by  censuring  the  factious  and 
''  turbulent  7ninority.,  who  made  these  long  sp^^ches 
^^for  the  purpose  of  embarrassing  them.,  and  pro- 


I        I 


(    1 


,     I' 

,1    ! 


.  \ 


f    Li 


j^6 


Address  to  the  IVnter  oj 


*'  trading'  their  debates  and  proceedings.  Thii* 
*'  plea  cannot  bear  examination.  Were  it  valid, 
*'  a  minority  of  six  or  eight  persons,  possessed  of 
"  the  faculty  of  making  '  long  talks,'  might,  at  all 
"  times,  totally  baffle  a  majority,  and  paralyze  the 
"  operations  of  government.  Suppose  each  mem- 
"  ber  of  the  minority  to  make  a  speech  of  a  day 
"  or  two,  on  every  subject  that  arose  for  discus- 
*'  sion — allow  a  reasonable  time  for  replication  to 
''  the  majority — and  the  whole  year  would  be  in- 
"  adequate  for  that  portion  of  business  which  the 
"  British  parliament  would  with  ease  dispatch  in 
"  a  month." — Idem.  p.  69. 

On  the  waste  of  time  in  discussing  the  question 
an  the  repeal  of  the  compensation  law,  the  following 
caustic  observations  were  hazarded. 

"  Nothing  has  occurred  in  the  variegated  an- 
"  nals  of  that  body  much  more  reprehensible. 
''  Never  was  time  more  wretchedly  spent — never 
"  talents  more  misemployed.  It  is  not  improba- 
"  ble  that  a  third  or  a  fourth  part  of  the  session 
"  was  prostituted  to,  1  had  nearly  said,  never-end- 
"  ing  debates  on  the  repeal  of  this  act,  (the  com- 
"  pensation  act.)  Almost  every  member  capable 
"  of  making  a  speech,  filled  two,  three,  four,  or  five 
"  columns  of  the  newspapers,  until  the  public  was 
"  disgusted  not  more  with  the  act  than  with  its 
"  defenders  and  opposers. — The  subject  might 
"  have  been  compressed  within  the  compass  of 
*'  a  nutshell.  > 

"  Any  man  of  tolerable  talents  might  have  ex- 
"  hausted  all  that  was  worth  hearing  on  either  side 
"  of  the  question  in  three  hours."— /^''ew.  p.  485 . 


li  • 


^s.  This 
c  it  valid, 
issessed  of 
ight,  at  all 
ral)'ze  the 
;acli  mem- 
h  of  a  day 
or  discus- 
lication  to 
idd  be  in- 
which  the 
ispatch  in 

2  question 
following 

gated  an- 
hensible. 
t — never 
improba- 
e  session 
ver-end- 
he  corn- 
capable 
,  or  five 
blic  was 
with  its 
|t  might 
pass  of 

lave  ex- 

ler  side 

I/?.  485. 


Letters  on  the  Eastern  Sft/tcs. 


Sf 


To  the  preceding  proofs  of  the  calumnious  nature 
of  your  accusations,  I  might  have  madj  copious  ad- 
ditions. But  I  feel  full  confidence  that  thev  are  alum- 
dantly  sufficient  to  convince  every  man  oi  candour 
what  extreme  injustice  you  have  done  me  an'd  my 
book.  That  you  are  convinced,  or,  if  you  be,  that 
you  will  acknowledge  your  error,  is  very  doubtful. 
But  whatever  may  be  the  result,  so  far  as  respects 
you,  I  feel  perfectly  indifTerent,  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  fairness  and  impartiality  of  intention. 


The  Author  of  the  0/ivr  Branch. 


Dec.  27,  1820 


.    *  •    /  • 


APPENDIX. 


I'' 
t1 


■ 


|. 


a 


Sir, 


(CIRCULAR.)        , 

*^  Phihuiclphui^  Dec.  20M,  1816. 


"  The  encounigcment  with  which  the  proposals 
for  the  eip^hth  edition  of  the  Olive  Branch  have  been 
honoured,  is  sufficient  to  warrant  the  publication.  I 
therefore  intend  to  put  it  to  press  on  or  about  the 
1st  February  next,  and  to  publish  it  early  in  April. 

"  I  am  sincerely  desirous  of  correcting  whatever 
errors  niuy  bein  it,  and  rendering  it  as  unexception- 
able as  my  means  of  information  and  leisure  will 
allow — I  therefore  request  you  will,  if  perfectly  con- 
venient, unreservedly  point  out  any  of  its  errors  or 
deficiencies  that  have  occurred  to  you.  To  any  such 
suggestions,  due  attention  shall  be  paid.  I  sincere- 
ly seek  truth.  And  if  I  do  not  attain  my  object,  it 
shall  not  be  for  want  of  suitable  endeavours. 

"  I  have  in  all  former  editions,  notwithstanding  my 
utmost  exertions,  laboured  under  a  very  great  defi- 
ciency of  documents.  I  most  respectfully  and  earn- 
estly solicit  your  aid,  and  shall  receive  with  thankful- 
ness any  documents  you  may  think  proper  to  com- 
municate. Such  of  them  as  you  direct,  shall  be  safely 
returned,  by 

"  Your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  M.  CAREY. 

«  Robt.  H.  Goldsborough,  Esq.'^ 


APl'l-NDlX. 


.V9 


,« 


B 

"  l\  ushhigton^  Franklin  Ihust^ 

yauuanj  6t/i,  1817. 

*'  I  H  AVF.  just  received  a  letter  from  you,in  which 
you  are  pleased  to  amu)unce  to  me  the  contemplated 
publication  of  the  eighth  edition  of  the  Olive  liraneh, 
and  request  me  ^'  unreservedly"  to  point  out  its  er- 
rors and  deficiencies — professing  yourself  desirous 
to  correct  them,  and  earnestly  solicit  my  aid  in  com- 
municating any  documents  for  that  purpose. 

"Allured,like  many  others,  by  the  title  of  this  book, 
I  read  it  a  year  or  two  ago  ;  and  I  was  as  nuuh  su;- 
prised  to  find  it  a  virulent  party  work,  as  to  see  a  re- 
sult so  diametrically  opposite  to  an  avowed  intention 
If  a  zealous  and  artful  partizan  had  employed  his 
tirne  in  culling  out  incidents  and  fragments,  and  in 
colouring  them  to  his  own  taste,  vtith  a  a  icw  of  de- 
grading one  of  the  great  political  parties  in  this  coun- 
try, and  of  elevating  the  other,  lie  eorJd  s;:arecly 
have  been  more  successftd  in  his  artifice,  and  false 
in  his  glosses,  than  the  impartial  author  of  the  Olive 
Branch  has  been. 

"I  should  not  have  been  disappointed,  if  the  work 
had  not  been  strictbj  impartial ;  for  I  did  not  antici- 
pate it ;  but  my  astonishment  was  great  indc  r)  to 
find,  that  it  was  wholly  destitute  of  every  claini  to 
such  character. 

"They  who  expect  that  men,  who  have  been  long- 
associated  with  conflicting  political  parties,  will  give 
fair  and  perfectly  impartial  representations  of  their 
respective  merits  and  faults,  M'ill  be  most  generally 
disappointed — the  pride  of  men,  their  interest,  and 


f 


GO 


APPENDIX. 


;'!! 


y\^ 


their  feelings  forbid  it — and  the  universal  failure  of 
works  of  this  sort,  which  even  bear  strong  marks 
and  evidences  of  such  a  disposition,  may  be  consi- 
dered as  conclusive.  The  course  that  the  work  called 
the  Olive  Branch,  has  taken,  the  hands  into  which 
it  has  almost  exclusively  fallen,  demonstrate  at 
once,  that  it  is  received  in  the  world  as  a  strong  par- 
ty work.  In  all  parts  of  the  country  where  I  have 
been,  it  is  found  almost  entirely  in  the  possession 
of  one  party  ;  and  it  is  kept  and  considered  by  them 
as  the  magic  wand  of  democracy,  which  is  used 
among  the  ignorant  to  cleanse  all  it  touches  from 
the  supposed  sin  of  federalism. 

"Those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  political 
history  of  our  country,  neither  require  the  aid  of  the 
Olive  Branch  nor  are  in  danger  from  it — but  those 
who  may  unsuspiciously  look  into  it  for  information, 
and  they  will  constitute  much  the  greater  portion  of 
mankind,  will  be  deceived,  imposed  on,  and  misled. 
A  more  subtile  poison,  mor^i.'"'jwniously  disguised, 
was  never  ministered,  than  that  which  lies  conceal- 
ed and  is  circulated  abroad  through  your  book.  It 
i;i  a  work  deadly  hostile  to  every  hope  of  reconcilia- 
lion,  and  tears  up  by  the  roots  every  fibre  of  forgive- 
ness. 

"'If  I  am  culled  on  to  point  out  its  errors,  I  would 
blot  out  cvcr'i  line  if  the  7vork^  as  being  a  cruel  fraud 
upon  the  unsusperting  credulity  of  the  unwary,  and 
as  a  durable  conservatory  of  materials  calculated  to 
extend  error,  and  engender  hatred.        "  " 

"'Thus,  sir,  I  have  briefly  and  "unreservedly"  giv- 
f-n  vou  n)\'  \  iew  of  the  errors  and  defects  of  thfi 
Olive  Branch:  und  it  onlv  remains  for  me  to  assure 


It ' 


ilure  of 

marks 

consi- 

I  called 

which 

rate    at 

ng  par- 

I  have 

session 

ly  them 

is  used 

:s  from 

lolitical 
d of the 
Lt  those 
nation, 
rtion  of 
misled, 
guised, 
onceal- 
ok.  It 
)ncilia- 
orgive- 

xvoulci 
1  fraud 
ry,  and 
ated  to 

r"  glV- 

of  thf^ 

assure 


APPFXDIX. 


61 


you,  that  I  have  no  documents  in  any  degree  allied 
to  the  character,  or  auxiliary  to  the  design,  of  the 
work  in  hand. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir, 
"  Your  very  obedient  servant, 

^'ROB.  H.  GOLDSBOROUGH. 
"  Mr.  Mathexv  Carei/,  PhUadelphia.''^ 


7. 


"  Roht.  IL  Goldshorough.^  Esq. 

"  Sir,  "  Philadelphia,  Jan.  10,  181 

"  Yours  of  the  6th  has  just  come  to  hand.  As 
the  mail  takes  but  two  days  from  Washington,  I  pre- 
sume you  were  employed  the  6th,  7th,  and  part  of 
the  8th,  in  elaborating  this  dignified  performance. 
You  have  in  part  adopted  the  advice  of  Horace — pity 
you  did  not  adopt  it  more  fully. 

"  That  I  sent  you  my  circular  is,  believe  me,  sir,  a 
subject  of  sincere  regret.  For  the  honour  of  the  le- 
gislature of  the  union,  of  which  you  are  an  unwor- 
thy member,  it  is  unfortunate  that  it  provoked  you 
to  degrade  and  dishonour  yourself  by  a  tissue  of 
scurrilous  and  **•  false''  comments,  which,  but  for  the 
evidence  before  my  eyes,  I  could  not  have  believed 
there  was  an  individual  in  congress  capable  of  writ- 
ing. 

"I  have  used  the  word  '•'-false.'*''  This  is  language 
that  ought  not  to  pass  between  gentlemen.  And  how- 
ever destitute  of  truth  your  assertions  were,  I  should 
not  have  soiled  my  page  with  it,  had  you  not  used  the 
word  yourself,  and  thus  broken  down  the  barrier  that 
ought  to  shut  out  from  the  intercourse  of  men  of  lib- 
eral minds  the  language  of  billingsgate. — Those  whx> 
play  at  bowls  must  expect  rubbers. 

5* 


,• 


3  I 


nil 
■I 


i'iW 


J,  I   I 


1 


62 


APPENDIX, 


"The  accusations  against  the  Olive  Branch  arc 
**  false,"  malicious,  and  indecent ;  they  have  not  the 
shadow  of  truth  or  candour.  And  1  defy  you  to  pro- 
duce a  single  decent  federalist  in  America  who  will 
support  you  in  them. 

*'  Judge  Yates  is  a  decided  federalist.  He  may  not 
be  as  rich  as  you,  but  his  standing  is  higher.  His 
mind  is  more  cultivated.  He  pronounced  in  a  large 
mixed  company,  that  the  "  Olive  Branch  was  the 
fairest  and  honestest  book  on  politics  he  had  ever 
read."  On  another  occasion  he  explicitly  declared 
it  reflected  honour  on  the  author's  head  and  heart. 

"  Nicholas  Biddle  is  also  a  decided  federalist.  He 
stands  on  as  high  ground  as  any  man  in  America. 
He  is  far  your  superior  in  head  and  heart.  In  a 
"word,  he  is  in  the  fullest  sense  a  real  American.  I 
have  now  before  me  a  billet  from  him  in  these  words : 
— (To  Mr.  Carey.)  "  Mr.  Biddle  takes  this  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  the  satisfaction  which  he  has  de- 
rived from  reading  his  manly  appeal  from  the  pas- 
sions to  the  reason  of  contending  parties."  Dec.  4. 
1814. 

'*  William  Rawle,  esq.  stands  high  in  your  party  for 
head  and  heart,  like  N.  Biddle.  No  man  can  doubt 
his  federalism.  He  acknowledged  to  a  friend  of 
igfiine  lately,  that  the  book  contained  a  great  many 
good  things — that  I  struck  about  both  parties  veiy 
freely  and  justly,  but  that  I  struck  one  party  with  the 
right  hand  and  the  other  with  the  left — and  that  a  man 
struck  harder  with  his  rig. it  hand  than  with  his  left. 
This  is  the  criticism  of  a  gentleman,  and  is  probably 
correct.  It  is  likely  enough,  that  I  may  have  been, 
though  unintentionally,  more  severe  on  the  federal- 


APPENDIX. 


G3 


ch  are 
not  the 
to  pro- 
ho  will 

nay  not 
.  His 
a  large 
k^as  the 
id  ever 
eclared 
heart, 
ist.  He 
nierica. 
.  In  a 
can.  I 
words : 
oppor- 
has  de- 
le pas- 
Dec.  4. 

irty  for 
doubt 
end  of 
many 
es  very 
ith  the 
;  a  man 
lis  left, 
obably 
s  been, 
ederal- 


ists  than  the  democrats.  I  pretend  to  no  exemption 
from  human  frailty.  But  that  to  correct  a  book  of 
nearly  500  pages,  you  "  would  blot  out  every  line  as 
being  a  cruel  fraud  upon  the  unsuspecting  credulity 
of  the  unwar}',"  would  in  any  literary  court,  or  court 
of  honour,  insure  you  an  unanimous  verdict  of  fool 
or  madman. 

"My  book,  thank  God,  has  done    and   is  doing 
good.    I  bless  that  Being  who  has  made  me  the  hum- 
ble instrument  to  accomplish  so  holy  a  purpose  as 
that  of  allaying  the  horrible  violence  of  party  rage, 
excited  by  m  icked  men,  which  had  brought  this  bles- 
sed country  to  the  verge  of  destruction.    Its  success 
is  pretty  strong  evidence  in  its  favor.     The  appro- 
bation and  decisive  testimony  of  some  of  the  best 
men  in  the  country  amply  repay  me  for  the  abuse  of 
some  of  the  worst.     And  be  assured,  sir,  that  your 
billingsgate  attack  affords  me  as  much  pride  as  any  of 
the  highest  encomiums  with  which  it  has  been  hon- 
oured.    The  reprobation  of  such  a  violent,  outrage- 
ous, and  indecent  partizan  as  you  are,  is  exquisitely 
gratifying. 

"In  enumerating  the  persons  who  have  applauded 
this  work,  I  have  passed  over  Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr. 
Madison,  Dr.  Eustis,  R.  Rush,  W.  Wirt,  W.  Samp- 
son, P.  Freneau,  judge  Moore,  &c.  &c.  as  you  might 
appeal  from  them  as  democrats.  But  there  are 
among  them  men  who  will  never  be  dishonoured  by 
being  compared  with  R.  H.  Goldsborough,  even  by 
his  own  party. 

"  Your  exalted  situation  as  a  member  of  the  most 
respectable  deliberative  body  in  the  world,  would 
have  secured  you  from  the  language  I  have  used, 


H 


I 


^' 


1. 1 

ii,  ! 


''  1    !' 


64 


APPENDIX. 


had  you  not  forfeited  all  claim  to  delicacy  by  your 
own  coarse  style — by  the  use  of  the  words  '•'' false ^''^ 
"  imposed  on^^''  "  deceived^'*  "  subtile  poison^'*  ''fraud^'' 
^c.  £iPc.  No  man  that  ever  lived,  even  gen.  Wash- 
ington himself,  should  use  to  me  this  language  with 
impunity. 

"  The  work  has  had  as  scurrilous  critics  and  carpers 
as  you;  they  have  used  harsh  names;  they  have  avail- 
ed themselves,  like  )  ou,  of  the  blackguard^s  vocabu- 
lary. But,  sir,  they,  like  you,  have  dealt  in  general 
terms.  Neither  they,  nor  you,  have  pointed  out  a 
single  error  of  importance — I  dare  you  to  a  fair  in- 
vestigation of  its  contents,  if  you  are  capable  of  such 
an  investigation.  I  have  earnestly  and  sedulously 
sought  after  truth,  and  I  believe  I  have  not  sought 
in  vain.  There  are,  I  trust,  as  few  important  errors 
in  the  Olive  Branch  as  in  any  work  of  equal  extent 
and  embracing  such  a  variety  of  delicate  subjects, 

"  I  now  draw  to  a  close.  Your  letter  rendered 
me  heavily  your  debtor.  I  hope  the  debt  is  paid, 
with  any  little  accruing  interest — I  therefore  consid- 
er the  account  as  closed.  You  may  open  it  anew,  or 
close  the  correspondence,  as  you  judge  proper.  I  am 
not  ambitious  of  the  honour ;  and  am  equally  indif- 
ferent about  your  love  or  your  hatred — your  praise 
or  your  abuse — your  silence  or  yoiu*  reply. 
"  I  remain.  Sir,  ,     .         ; 

"  with  all  due  regard, 
"  Your  most  obsequious  humble  servant, 
.        -  ,,     "MATHEW  CAREY. 

'^January  loth,  1817 y       -  " 


APPENDIX. 


65 


)y  your 
'  false  ^^"^ 
fraud ^^"^ 
Wash- 
ge  with 

carpers 
e  avail- 
^ocabu- 
general 
I  out  a 
fair  in- 
of  such 
Lilously 
sought 
errors 
extent 
ects, 
idered 

paid, 
onsid- 
e\v,  or 

I  am 
indif- 
praise 


iY. 


**  P.  S.  I  feel  disposed  to  publish  this  correspon- 
dence in  the  next  edition  of  my  work,  in  order  that 
the  state  of  Maryland  may  know  how  dignified,  po- 
lite, and  accomplished  a  representative  it  has  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.  This  is  under  consid- 
eration.    I  shall  not  decide  on  it  hastily." 


•^M 


D 
(COPY.) 

••*  Washington^  Franklin  House^ 

yanuarij  12,  1817. 
"  Mr,  Ilathexv  Carey, 


^'SlR, 


"  Your  letter  of  the  .  8th,  just  handed  to  me  this 
evening,  is  filled  with  wrath  against  me,  for  comply- 
ing with  your  request,  contained  in  a  letter  of  the 
20th  Dec.  past,  of  wuxcscvyq&Xy  ^'' pointing- out  the 
errors  and  deficiencies  of  the  Olive  Branch?'' 

''  Had  I  passed  over  your  letter  in  silence,  I 
should  have  been  subjected,  in  your  opinion,  to  the 
imputation  of  neglect  and  ill  manners  ; — and  if  I  un- 
dertook to  obey  your  commands,  in  justice  to  my 
opinion,  I  could  not  have  said  less. 

"  As  my  letter  is  undergoing  the  slow  process  of 
your  consideration,  whether  you  will  publish  it  or 
not,  I  hope  you  will  be  enabled  to  decide  by  the 
time  the  eighth  edition  of  the  Olive  Branch  is  ready 
for  the  press,  and  that  you  will  oblige  me  so  far  as 
to  determine  in  favor  of  its  publication,  together 
with  the  whole  of  our  correspondence,  as  I  am  quite 
willing  to  risk  what  you  consider  my  criticism  before 
the  world. 

"  Your  humble  Servant, 
^'  HOBEUr  H.  GOLDSBOROUGH."  * 


66 


APPENDIX. 


'.I 


E 

"  Robert  H.  Goldaborough^  Esq. 

"Sir, 

"  I  HAVE  received  yours  of  the  12th,  and  duly 
weighed  its  contents.  You  are,  give  me  leave  to 
observe,  egregiously  mistaken. — Your  letter  excit- 
ed no  "Tt;r«M."  It  excited  emotions  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent nature.     I  leave  you  to  judge  what  they  were. 

"  A  Circular  does  not  necessarily  require  an 
answer.  Your  logic  is  therefore  incorrect. — But,  sir, 
if  it  did,  the  studied  inoffensiveness  of  its  style,  the 
obvious  propriety  and  candour  of  its  object,  the  age 
of  the  writer,  your  own  character,  and  the  high  grade 
you  fill  in  society,  imperiously  required  that  it  should 
be  answered  with  decorum  and  politeness.  You 
hav^e  equally  disregarded  the  dictates  of  both. 

*'  When  you  projected  the  novel  mode  of  "  correct- 
ing'^ the  Olive  Branch,  by  "  blotting'  out  every  line^'^ 
you  forgot  that  I  have  as  freely  reprobated  the  er- 
rors of  your  political  opponents,  as  of  your  friends. 
I  have  censured  the  folly  of  their  proceedings  in  the 
national  convention,  their  opposition  to  a  navy^  their 
beggarly  economy .^  their  factious  clamours  against  the 
alien  and  sedition  laxvs^  their  pernicious  errors  on  the 
sidyect  of  the  Loans  during  the  war.,  their  77iisma?iage- 
ment  at  Washington.,  &c.  &c.  This  conduct,  with  a 
liberal  mind,  would  have  saved  the  work  and  its  au- 
thor from  the  virulence  you  have  displayed. 

"  You  say  that  "  works  professing  to  point  out  er- 
rors of  conflicting  parties  do  not  succeed."  I  have 
never  seen,  nor  have  you,  any  other  work  of  this  de- 
scription. Political  writers  are  almost  imiversally 
devoted  to  abuse  one  party  and  eulogize  the  other — 
very  little  scrupulous  about  veracity.     And,  sir,  I 


APPENDIX. 


fe7 


'    '    '• 


I,  and  duly 
le  leave  to 
tter  excit- 
i  very  dif- 
they  were, 
equire  an 
—But,  sir, 

St)  le,  the 
ct,  the  age 
ligh  grade 
t  it  should 
2SS.  You 
oth. 

"  correct- 
)ery  line^"^ 
sd  the  er- 
r  friends, 
igs  in  the 
ctvy^  their 
gainst  the 
ors  on  the 
'imanage- 
;t,  with  a 
id  its  au- 
I. 

tit  out  er- 
I  have 
f  this  de- 
iversally 
\  other — 
id,  sir,  I 


feel  a  high,  (and  I  hope  not  an  illaudable,)  gratifica- 
tion, that  I  have  steered  a  course,  I  may  say,  literally 
untrodden.  I  have,  however,  seen  a  quotation  from 
a  work  by  Lord  Somers,  the  title  of  which  leads  me 
to  believe  that  it  partook  somewhat  of  this  character. 
"  Whether  I  shall  publish  this  correspondence,  as 
I  am  earnestly  urged,  is  yet  uncertain.  If  I  court- 
ed a  triumph  over  a  wanton  aggressor,  completely 
and  irretrievably  prostrate,  I  should  not  hesitate  a 
moment.  But  I  have  so  many  objects  of  higher  im- 
portance to  occupy  my  time  and  attention,  that  I  can 
hardly  resolve  to  display  to  the  admiring  world  the 
splendid  talents — the  refined  urbanity — and  the  criti- 
cal acumen  of  the  Hon.  R.  H.  Goldsborough. 

"  Yours,  &c. 

"  MATHEW  CAREY. 

,'' Fhtladelphia.y an,  14,  1817:' 


THE  END* 


